site.btaUPDATED Caretaker PM-Designate: "My Key Task Is to Lower Political Tension"

Accepting a mandate to form a caretaker cabinet Thursday, caretaker Prime Minister-designate Dimitar Glavchev said his key task will be "to lower political tension". "I will make sure we do a better job in all respects," he told President Rumen Radev.

He also said, "One can always do better. I have nothing to be ashamed of for the work of the government of which I am still caretaker prime minister. No one has disputed that we have done our main task well - to organize fair, free and transparent elections. At the same time, we have kept to Bulgaria's European path, which has been set for years. A path that was started many governments ago. I promised exactly that - to organize the elections properly, to preserve the European path and to solve the problems of the Bulgarian citizens. This is the most important thing for any government, whether caretaker or regular." 

Glavchev added that he is "a big proponent of regular [Parliament-appointed] governments". "A regular government is backed by a majority in Parliament. A caretaker cabinet does not enjoy such support. There will always be speculations about political dependencies and they are mostly part of election campaigning. Unfortunately, it was all an election campaign [during the first Glavchev caretaker cabinet]; I did not see any other kind of work in Parliament but it is not my job to criticize the MPs," he said.

The caretaker Prime Minister-designate went on to speak about the need for state institutions to work together for improving the lives of Bulgarians. "You and me proved that we can do that. I said last time that it had been a hard choice for both of us. Now it is clear that it can be even harder."

Glavchev said that he is watching carefully what is happening in society and what the public attitudes are.

He is optimistic that the government he will propose on August 26 will meet people's expectations.

On his way out of the President's Office Glavchev was asked if he would change any ministers in the cabinet he now heads, to which he said that it would become clear on August 26. 

He would not say if he would change Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov. It was over the presence of Stoyanov as Interior Minister that President Radev refused to decree the appointment of a caretaker cabinet proposed by Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva. 

"I am watching what is happening in society. I will take action to calm down the political climate," he said.