site.btaUPDATED Whoever Wants to Topple the Government Will Be Held Responsible - GERB Leader Borissov Says

GERB leader Boyko Borissov said that whoever wants to topple the Government will take responsibility for it. "I do not believe [Democracy for Rights and Freedoms leader] Ahmed Dogan wants to overthrow the Government. If he wants it, that's his business. In Bankya [Borissov's hometown near Sofia] we say: you can take by force, you cannot give by force, the GERB leader told journalists in Parliament in response to a question about DRF's Thursday's declaration , which said that they would not be a fig leaf for MRF-New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski's behind-the-scenes dependencies.

"Their declaration yesterday was a surprise for me," Borissov said. "Suddenly yesterday this talk made me sad, I was sad when I heard them because it is not fair. When we bear all the responsibility, together with the other two parties. We have thanked them when we voted the budget together all night, but we cannot forbid anyone to vote for or against," Borissov said.

During the budget vote, support was also received from the MRF-New Beginning, led by Peevski. Dogan and Peevski had a rift last year over the leadership of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms party. 

At the beginning of his speech Borissov again pointed out that the Government is not stable because the parties in it are diametrically opposed. Asked whether he would split with the Dogan's DRF, he explained that he was not splitting with anyone and that he was not rejecting their support. "They came to support us, I think we did a good job with the budget," the GERB leader added. "Yesterday they spoke very nastily. It made me sad. I am most dangerous when I am sad," Borissov added. Asked in such a case what he would do, he replied - "I will continue to be sad".

The GERB leader admitted that he was puzzled by DRF's behaviour because just half an hour before the budget vote, DRF Floor Leader Dzhevdet Chakarov had told him that he had their full support for everything. "Someone is pulling their strings," Borissov concluded.

Boyko Borissov believes that the Government will continue to work and pointed out that the only ones who, according to opinion polls, benefit from elections are MRF-New Beginning. He expressed satisfaction that on Thursday the three political parties came together in front of the media in Parliament and explained what is happening with the government, with the budget vote. "If we decide to overthrow the government or work with a minority in the future, the three parties will come out again and announce it together. For GERB and our voters [joining] the euro area is a geostrategic task," Borissov said. 

"You can see that yesterday at the Council even Fico (Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia) voted for support for Ukraine, as did Bulgaria," Borissov added. "Our support for [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy remains," he replied to a question. "Our proposals, presented 10-15 days ago at an online meeting, are already a fact, which enables our military-industrial complex to be at the same table with the big European companies, to invest in innovative technologies related to defence," the GERB leader continued. In his words, the war itself is now completely different - drones, electronic warfare, completely different kind of strategies are being used. "And here we have an opportunity for the AI sector, artificial intelligence, I do not see the point of someone to overthrow the Government, to wander again with caretaker governments, fragmented parliaments - nothing good for the people," pointed out Boyko Borissov. Adding that it is not even about ego, but every party should think about what will happen to the country. "We can easily turn around and leave, then what happens, we are responsible to the people, I am responsible at least for those 650,000 people who voted for GERB, to whom I promised to have a regular government and to enter the eurozone," Borissov stressed. According to him, this Government, albeit unstable, is better than anything else.

Asked to comment Vazrazhdane's intentions to submit over 38,000 amendments to the 2025 State Budget Bill between first and second reading, Borissov said that "this shows a lot of work. Merely writing them [the amendments] down requires much time and effort, and I applaud anyone who works and makes an effort," Borissov said.