site.btaUPDATED GERB's Borissov: Cabinet Will Do "Three-Four Things" and Resign

After the President handed his party a mandate to form a government and Prime Minister-designate Rosen Zhelyazkov handed him a Cabinet proposal right away, GERB leader Boyko Borissov told reporters that if the government is formed, it will accomplish "three or four tasks and then resign". He did mention three tasks: adopting a state budget, unblocking EU funding and making progress towards euzone entry.

"If the government goes through thanks to a trick - whether some MPs choose not to come for the vote, or decide to back us but not as a party, not in a majority to fulfill our programme, then the government will have a very short life: not because somebody will bring it down but because we will walk out," Borissov told reporters.

Borissov said that "the only and most important goal" is to adopt a state budget. Another task he mentioned is "restoring the EU funding". Also, he said that "the eurozone is a political issue and if we have a government, I believe we can move ahead with it and then go to elections". 

"When we are done with the three-four things I just mentioned, we will resign," he said. 

Asked where he hopes for support, he said he is first turning to Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) and "all the rest who are turning their back to the State and chose to protect or reclaim their voter base". He said further, "At the next elections they will hear me say the same. Even if they are first then - not that they will be but even if they are - and they hear from us that we will be protecting our voter base, they will have only Vazrazhdane left [to rely for support]. They should think about the above points and our programme and [if they are willing to discuss them] we will be available. Today we are responsible and open for dialogue."

He also said that some ministers on the proposed list can be changed, if a batter candidate is proposed. 

Asked if a Cabinet proposed on somebody else's mandate can go through, he said, "Definitely not".

Of Georgi Gvozdeikov and Kalin Stoyanov, who have been designated as Transport and Interior Minister, respectively, he said that the former is "a colleague from Continue the Change who is doing a good job" and that the latter was appointed in the Nikolay Denkov cabinet after coordination between CC-DB and GERB-UDF. Stoyanov is the only Interior Minister who hasn't had election results challenged on his watch, said also Borissov adding that "the bone of contention with CC-DB was elsewhere".

Asked by reporters how the government would be working if everybody had a resignation in their pockets, Borissov said. "Like all governments in the past three years did. Nothing different from what it was like in the past three years. Chaos, total chaos, no eurozone, we have become a EU donor, no funding absorption - and everybody is telling me they are thinking of their base. It is about time they started thinking about the people and State."