site.btaPresident's Cabinet-forming Consultations Go Into Second Day with Vazrazhdane, BSP-United Left

President Rumen Radev on Wednesday met with the leaders Vazrazhdane and BSP - United Left on the second day of the head of State's consultations with representatives of the parliamentary groups ahead of mandating the largest of them to form a government.

During the meeting, Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov said his party is ready to form a cabinet if it is asked to do so. "We are ready to take the responsibility. We can talk with the other political forces, leaving behind personal animosities. We always talk policies," Kostadinov said as he was asked by the President under what conditions his party would form a government.

According to Vazrazhdane, "anything that will be done on the first [GERB's] or the second [CC-DB's] mandate for forming a government, will be profoundly unprincipled and will extend the agony of the status quo".

Radev said at the start of a meeting with Vazrazhdane that while the negotiations on forming a regular government are underway, Parliament can and should work.  

BSP - United Left Co-Floor Leader Atanas Zafirov said during the meeting with the President that a government must be formed but "it is too pretentious to expect us to solve the situation". He added that the necessity to have a government is caused not only by the fact that a state budget has to be voted, but also by the "glaring need for reforms in various sectors".

Zafirov said that BSP - United Left were ready to engage in dialogue "even at the cost of certain party risks", but only if the potential cabinet has clear commitments. He argued that the most important function of the next government would be to introduce measures that would guarantee the fairness of the elections and to make stealing the vote of the Bulgarians impossible.

Rumen Radev said that the latest elections have confirmed the place and the role of the BSP - United Left coalition in the 51st National Assembly, which has contributed significantly to unblock the Parliament's work.

President Radev has decided not to hold consultations with the parliamentary group of MRF - New Beginning, the head of State's press secretariat told BTA on Tuesday afternoon. Before this decision was announced, MRF - New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski told journalists that he personally would not go to consultations with the President but his party would honour the head of State's invitation out of respect for the presidential institution. Asked why he would not go personally, Peevski said that he makes the decisions for himself and "being the leader of MRF - New Beginning, I have the right to go as I please". On Wednesday, Peevski said that President Rumen Radev violated the Constitution "once again" by excluding his group in the new legislature from consultations with the parliamentary groups. Peevski also said that the head of State is to blame for "the disintegration of the country" and that the presidential administration is busy with putting together "Rumen Radev's new [political] project".

On Tuesday, Radev conferred for consultations with the largest group, GERB-UDF, and with the second largest, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB).

The consultations will continue on December 12 with talks with representatives of Ahmed Dogan’s Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, There Is Such a People (TISP), and MECh.

Under the Constitution, after the consultations with the parliamentary groups, the President mandates the largest one to form a government. If the group fails to do so, he mandates the second largest one. If it also fails, the third exploratory mandate goes to a parliamentary group chosen by the President. Failure to form a regular government under the third mandate results in snap parliamentary elections.