site.btaGERB Have Always Worked with MRF Because They Are Mainstream, Boyko Borissov Says

The GERB party has always worked with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) over the years because they are mainstream, GERB leader and three-time prime minister Boyko Borissov told journalists in the Rupite area in the southwestern Blagoevgrad Region on Sunday.

Borisssov said: "The MRF is a liberal party. I am working with them even now; we have always worked with them because they are mainstream. When the matter of North Macedonia was raised, MRF was the first party to say that the Republic of North Macedonia should be admitted [to the European Union]. When the matter of weapons for Ukraine was raised, MRF was the first party to support that."

Borissov said that after the "2 in 1" elections to the European and Bulgarian parliaments on June 9, GERB may hold negotiations with Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), but without CC co-leaders Kiril Petkov and Assen Vassilev and ex-prime minister Nikolay Denkov.

"The West knows which is the strong mainstream party [in Bulgaria]. Of course, I will work with CC-DB, but GERB should be the dominant force and authority, not them. Prime ministers, ministers, they should be ours. This is the only way, especially because we have a right to it under the government rotation arrangement."

The "government rotation arrangement" was made between GERB-UDF and CC-DB. According to it, a representative of each of the two partner coalitions (Mariya Gabriel and Nikolay Denkov) would switch places as foreign minister and prime minister after holding the respective office for nine months. The Denkov cabinet was voted into office on June 6, 2023. The rotation was due to take place on March 6, 2024, but the arrangement failed, thus precipitating early parliamentary elections.

"Those who voted against Rosen Zhelyazkov have no place at our table anymore. I will not negotiate with them ever again," Borissov said. He was referring to the April 25 ouster of the National Assembly chair, which was supported by the votes of CC-DB, BSP for Bulgaria, Vazrazhdane, and There Is Such a People. "They can go on and put together a great coalition after the elections. We will be a strong opposition. I will help them within my powers, but they will be the ones to govern the country," he added.

According to Borissov, the pro-Russian parties such as Vazrazhdane and BSP (Bulgarian Socialist Party) will be GERB's principal opponents at the elections. "This is our red line. We are a pro-European party," he stressed.

In Rupite, Borissov planted a tree within the 15th installment of the GERB initiative "Let's Sink Roots in Bulgaria". The initiative is steered by the youth section of the party chapter in Blagoevgrad. GERB MPs, MEPs and other party activists planted trees and shrubs behind the Church of St Petka of Bulgaria, whose construction in 1994 was sponsored by the internationally famous clairvoyant Baba Vanga (1911-1996).