site.btaPolitical Leaders React to President Mandating Caretaker PM Glavchev to Form New Cabinet

President Rumen Radev Thursday handed a government-forming mandate to Dimitar Glavchev, the current head of the caretaker Cabinet. Glavchev has until Monday, August 26, to propose a caretaker cabinet composition and lineup. If the mandate is successfully fulfilled, Bulgaria will have snap parliamentary elections on October 27. 

On Monday, the President rejected a government lineup proposed by the previous caretaker prime minister-designate, Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva, after she refused to replace caretaker Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov as her interior minister nominee. 

Following are the reactions of political leaders to Glavchev being the new caretaker prime minister-designate.

Continue the Change Co-chairman Kiril Petkov wrote on Facebook that Glavchev's only task is to say "no" to Peevski and to ensure fair elections. "By his deeds we shall know him," Petkov said. He was referring to Delyan Peevski, one of the two chairmen of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). "It is either a new person close to Peevski at the Interior Ministry or fair elections - this is the question facing Glavchev," Petkov said. "If Glavchev nominates an interior minister with no covert dependence on Peevski, it will be a step forward. If Glavchev chooses some of Peevski's hidden proxies like [Deputy Interior Minister ] Stoyan Temelakiev or [the head of the General Directorate National Police] Atanas Ilkov, it will be pulling the wool over people's eyes again," Petkov argued.

Vazrazhdane party leader Kostadin Kostadinov told a news conference in Burgas (on the Black Sea) that the big question is whether caretaker Minister of Interior Kalin Stoyanov will keep his job in the new caretaker government. Kostadinov argued that Stoyanov has been publicly exposed as being "property" of MRF Floor Leader Peevski. 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 ten 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 argued. 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".

Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) acting Chair Atanas Zafirov told the media that his party's position regarding Dimitar Glavchev has not changed at all. "Our categorical opinion is that he must not be prime minister,"  Zafirov underscored. "His refusal to say categorically whether Kalin Stoyanov will stay on as interior minister confirms our finding that Mr Glavchev is unable to provide guarantees of his impartiality," Zafirov commented further. "We continue to believe that he is not the right candidate but, at the same time, we reckon with the restrictions imposed by the Constitution," the BSP leader added. He explained that at a just ended meeting, the BSP Executive Bureau had confirmed the party leadership's support for the actions of President Radev and the demand for Stoyanov's resignation and the categorical view that he cannot be a caretaker interior minister. "We reaffirm our stand that this parliament is completely played out, which is why it cannot possibly pass such important personnel resolutions concerning the future of such institutions as the ombudsman and the Bulgarian National Audit Office. We are not involved in such talks," Zafirov said. He called on all parties "which are to blame for this grave political crisis that is escalating into a constitutional crisis on the basis of the inept constitutional amendments" to apologize to Bulgarian society and declare their readiness to support the BSP in its intention to move for amendments to the Constitution in the next parliament which would reinstate the previous provisions about the way in which caretaker cabinets are appointed and remove the pool of potential caretaker PM appointees from Bulgarian politics. BSP for Bulgaria Floor Leader Borislav Gutsanov said that the Left MPs will attend the swearing in of the new caretaker cabinet if it takes place on Tuesday. In his words, "this is a constitutional duty of each National Representative". 

There Is Such a People leader Stanislav Trifonov wrote on Facebook: "We need to go to elections as quickly as possible so that the country can stabilize and hopefully, if possible this Constitution can be revised and the old one return." In Trifonov's words, everybody is focused on whether Kalin Stoyanov will be nominated for the next caretaker cabinet, only that a distinction should be made between reason and cause. "Kalin Stoyanov is a reason. The reason is the ridiculous Constitution, which, I will not tire of repeating, is the brainchild of its fathers - Hristo Ivanov, Kiril Petkov, Assen Vassilev, Boyko Borisov and Delyan Peevski," Trifonov said. According to him, whoever is named as the next Interior Minister, he will again be in the service of one of his fathers. "They are the ones who have made this Constitution look like it can be most brazenly exploited. So, I consider the whole story about Kalin Stoyanov a farce," Trifonov wrote.