site.btaSocialist Borislav Gutsanov: Way of Choosing Bulgarian EU Commissioner Will Say a Lot about New Caretaker Government

The way of choosing the next Bulgarian member of the European Commission will say a lot about the new caretaker government, BSP for Bulgaria floor leader Borislav Gutsanov told journalists in the National Assembly on Tuesday. Gutsanov noted that the Bulgarian authorities often fail to pick the best option in such cases.

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) will announce its nomination for European commissioner after a meeting of its Executive Bureau, he said.

Gutsanov was asked about the possibility of proposing ex-BSP leader Sergey Stanishev for European commissioner. Stanishev is also former president of the Party of European Socialists, former member of the European Parliament and former prime minister of Bulgaria. Gutsanov said: "Without a doubt, he is one of the diplomats of Bulgaria, but it is up to the Bureau to decide, and only then can we comment on the matter."

The BSP for Bulgaria floor leader was speaking to the media after the new caretaker government was sworn in earlier in the day. He said that, in addition to ensuring the fairness of the October 27 snap elections, the new government should do everything to address the water supply problem in some parts of Bulgaria. He called the water shortage issue "an insanity" affecting over a million people.

Later on Tuesday, the BSP press office quoted the party's interim leader Atanas Zafirov as telling Bulgaria ON AIR television that one of the first things which the next National Assembly should take care of is to undo the December 2023 constitutional amendments, particularly those concerning the election of a caretaker cabinet. Zafirov called for a return of reason to politics, which will make it possible to secure the voting majority needed to reverse the constitutional amendments. "This is the only way to halt the collapse of statehood and the loss of public confidence and meaning in Parliament," he commented.