site.btaVazrazhdane Leader Kostadinov: Even If Interior Minister Is Replaced, Nothing Much Can Change under a Prime Minister Dependent on Delyan Peevski

The big question is whether caretaker Minister of Interior Kalin Stoyanov will keep his job in the new caretaker government, Vazrazhdane party leader Kostadin Kostadinov said at a news conference in Burgas on Thursday. Kostadinov argued that Stoyanov has been publicly exposed as being "property" of Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) Floor Leader Delyan Peevski.

Kostadinov's remarks came hours after President Rumen Radev handed a government-forming mandate to caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, who has been designated to head the next caretaker government as well. On Monday, the President rejected a government lineup proposed by the previous caretaker prime minister-designate Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva after she refused to replace Stoyanov as her interior minister nominee. Now, Glavchev has until August 26 to propose a new caretaker cabinet.

In his comment on Thursday, Kostadinov went on to say that the question of Stoyanov's future remains unanswered after Prime Minister Glavchev said he is proud of the work of his present government. Kostadinov insisted that Stoyanov is "a man of Peevski", protecting Peevski's personal interests rather than the interests of the state.

"Even if we assume that Kalin Stoyanov is replaced after all, we cannot be certain that someone else, another 'Kalin Stoyanov', will not emerge, someone among the many anonymous policemen serving at a lower level in the Interior Ministry. We should bear in mind that we have witnessed unprecedented political protests in the Interior Ministry system over the last 10 days," Kostadinov said.

"We see that the Interior Minister organizes protests in support of himself. We see that the Interior Minister views his ministry as his own property. We see a party leader [Delyan Peevski] come forward and say he will put Stoyanov at the top of his election candidates' list - and this leaves the Prosecutor General's Office absolutely unperturbed, although it is supposed to take action in this case," the Vazrazhdane leader said.

Even if Stoyanov is replaced, Kostadinov doubts that the next interior minister, whoever he may be, will be any different from Stoyanov, "given the very serious dependencies of the present Prime Minister Glavchev upon Peevski". The next interior minister is likely to provide a protective umbrella over vote buyers, "just as his predecessor did" during the latest elections, Kostadinov predicted.

"This is the only way for Peevski to enter the next Parliament, which is a precondition for his political survival, and his political survival is a precondition for his physical survival. In other words, our entire nation has become hostage to two people. Or rather, a man and his 'property'."

Therefore, Vazrazhdane are not optimistic about the lineup of the future cabinet, which is expected to be the same as the present one, with Glavchev remaining prime minister, Kostadinov said. He noted that in this highly unpredictable situation, the scenario of Glavchev proposing Stoyanov for interior minister is just as possible as not proposing him. He attributed the uncertainty to "the very strong dependencies and interconnections among absolutely all political players - except for Vazrazhdane, I put a strong emphasis on that".