site.btaContinue the Change Co-leader Petkov: Parties Mistrust Each Other

Speaking to reporters in the corridors of Parliament on Wednesday, Continue the Change (CC) Co-chair Kiril Petkov said that the parties mistrust each other. He was asked by the press to comment remarks by GERB leader Boyko Borissov about what his party's "natural partners" are, and he listed there CC-DB, MRF, BSP and TISP. "The truth is that [the parties] do not trust each other. Otherwise, we would not be in this mess," Petkov argued.

Petkov reiterated that, according to CC-DB’s proposal, the solution to the political crisis in Bulgaria lies in electing a non-partisan prime minister, an economist or a lawyer, who is equally distant from all parties, and all politicians should agree on a common governance programme to take Bulgaria forward.

Borissov has also called for a "gentleman's agreement" to be reached between the parties, who, according to him, must start considering with whom they can and cannot coalesce. He added: "If GERB comes first, do we have a guarantee that the second will support it and vice versa; if we come second, will we support the first?" 

"I heard about these gentleman's agreements, in order to be a gentleman you have to keep your word first. Borissov should think about what the definition of a gentleman is and think about what Bulgaria's priorities are. We need all parties to understand what Bulgaria's priorities are, how we can talk about the young people’s future, how we get out of this crisis," Petkov also said, adding that political selfishness should be set aside.

Commenting on the bill on foreign agents that was submitted to the National Assembly by the far-right, Euro-sceptic Vazrazhdane party, Kiril Petkov said that, according to this bill, any Bulgarian who receives some BGN 1,000 from abroad automatically becomes a foreign agent. Students who receive scholarships become agents. Scientists who have won some grants from other universities become agents, Petkov said. What Vazrazhdane is doing, he said, is trying to implement [Russia’s President Vladimir] Putin's law in Bulgaria.

Petkov also said that CC-DB’s governance programme envisages investing in young people in Bulgaria.