site.btaUPDATED GERB Leader Borissov Rules Out Working with Peevski

GERB leader Boyko Borissov Thursday said: "We will not work with [Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning leader Delyan] Peevski and we have already proved it." He spoke to reporters after the Rosen Zhelyazkov cabinet, formed on GERB-UDF's mandate, was sworn in in Parliament.

Borissov also said there are no perpetual enemies or eternal allies in politics, adding that he was not at war with anyone.

Borissov predicted that the government could last a very long time. Judging from the statements of the opposition, a government is key to accomplishing anything at all, he said. "If [former prime minister Nikolay] Denkov is sincere when talking about all the good things that happened when we worked together - this government is not set in stone. Both There Is Such a People (TISP) and the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), as well as GERB-UDF, wanted to involve Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB). The door is open to them," Borissov said.

"The sweetest thing right now is to be in opposition. But the opposition has enlarged so much that it will devour itself. There is no more room for oppositionists, but if anything is to be accomplished, there must be a government - even if they keep barking, there still needs to be a government. Today we gave them that - the opportunity to bark because they cannot do much else," the GERB leader commented.

Borissov noted that when GERB-UDF spoke with TISP and BSP, they wanted DB to join the government. "That is why we made all the compromises," he said, referring to the decision to halt Borislav Sarafov's election as Prosecutor General.

Borissov stated that GERB-UDF, TISP and BSP - United Left decided that the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF), close to Ahmed Dogan, was the better option for getting support for the government than signing "futile declarations." Borissov was referring to CC-DB's proposal that all parliamentary forces sign a declaration on a sanitary cordon against Peevski before the start of government talks. The agreement among GERB, TISP and BSP does not include the idea of a sanitary cordon.

Borissov stressed that when one works with the enemy of a certain person, the latter cannot be one's friend. He elaborated that "when you bring Delyan Peevski's biggest enemy, Ahmed Dogan, into the government", this is a clear signal that the government coalition will not work with Peevski.

Borissov said that CC co-leader Kiril Petkov was most dependent now on the leader of MRF - New Beginning, Delyan Peevski. "Right now, you can see New Beginning and CC in an embrace," he said. Asked if ARF had asked for something in return for their support for the cabinet, Borissov said that statehood is more important to them.

"I am not fighting with anyone. At present, everyone, including President Radev, is saying the country is in a very bad shape. We will at least make an attempt, and I am confident we can accomplish a couple of things," Borissov said.

He said that during the negotiations with Democratic Bulgaria, a huge amount of time was spent discussing governance matters. "In the last few days, [DB leader] Atanas Atanasov asked me for two things, which I promised to do, and my colleagues did as promised - to halt the election of Sarafov as Prosecutor General and to ensure that the current Supreme Judicial Council cannot elect a new Prosecutor General. This was done, and yet DB did not join the government," Borissov said.

The GERB leader stated that the Rosen Zhelyazkov government is the party's top echelon. "I cannot betray Zhelyazkov, or Tomislav Donchev, or Petkova. In other words, I have put forward my strongest people to ensure a strong government," he concluded.

Tomislav Donchev is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth and  Temenuzhka Petkova is Minister of Finance.