site.btaPolitical Leaders Comment on Zhelyazkov Cabinet

A new regular cabinet with Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, formed on GERB-UDF’s mandate, was successfully elected in Parliament on Thursday. Leaders of all parliamentary groups and parties commented on the composition of Zhelyazkov’s Government before and after the vote.

The ministers in the lineup were put forward by GERB-UDF, BSP – United Left and There Is Such a People (TISP). Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (DRF) supported the Cabinet, while the other political forces voted against.

After the successful vote, GERB leader Boyko Borissov said there are no perpetual enemies or eternal allies in politics, adding that he was not at war with anyone. "We will not work with [Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning leader Delyan] Peevski and we have already proved it," he added. Borissov predicted that the government could last a very long time. 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.

During the debate in the National Assembly, Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) Co-Floor Leader Nadejda Iordanova said that her parliamentary group will monitor carefully any deviation from Bulgaria's European path and the rule of law. She added that there is a paradox in the presented governance agreement as it contains all the principles of liberal democracy, but at the same time there are participants in the governing majority who violate them. "CC-DB will be opposition, we will be consistent, we will work for the modernization and strengthening of institutions," Iordanova stressed. 

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov also talked from the Parliament rostrum during the debate on the cabinet. “This government will begin its political life with not one, but two betrayals, betrayals of two formations that are part of this parliamentary majority—The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and There Is Such a People (TISP),” he said. Kostadinov recalled that TISP and BSP participated in protests precisely because they did not trust the election process organized by GERB, and now they are together with GERB, alleging they will guarantee fair and free elections. Regarding the new majority's priority to pursue eurozone membership, Kostadinov noted that TISP and BSP have shown a preference to postpone joining for as long as possible.

Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski described the cabinet as “a coalition of immunities”. “The deal is to protect the derebeys [from Turkish - feudal lords] and not strip them of their immunities," he argued. “Our goal was to have elections, because today something very unpleasant has finally emerged," Peevski said. “Our goal was to have elections, because today something very unpleasant has finally emerged," he added.

BSP – United Left MP Dragomir Stoynev said in Parliament that the political crisis has become the status quo, causing the State to stagnate: "It is our responsibility to overcome this status quo. We believe Bulgaria needs not just normal but accelerated development." By refusing to support the government, the opposition aligns with those who want new elections, he added. The MP emphasized the need for balance over confrontation, calling for a sensible approach to address the economic, demographic, social, and spiritual crisis.

Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (DRF) Floor Leader Dzhevdet Chakarov said the parliamentary group will support a regular government “because that is the nationally responsible position at the moment”. He argued that the election of a regular government would lower the degree of public tension as another election would lead to an even greater withdrawal of people from the political process, which would negatively affect the entire political system and representative democracy in general. "We managed to achieve transparency of the DRF's participation as part of the majority and the regulation of our support in an annex to the coalition agreement between GERB-UDF, BSP - United Left and There Is Such a People,” Chakarov said.

TISP leader Slavi Trifonov commented on the election on Facebook, saying that in order to have a government, a compromise must be made: "I do not like it at all, but I do and I will make this compromise because it is the only way that will make it better. For all of us." He argued that the country is facing bankruptcy and in two months the country will have no money for teachers, doctors, pensioners, researchers, etc. if there is no government now to adopt a budget.

Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh) leader Radostin Vasilev said that this government cannot be anti-corruption or reformist, nor can it uphold the rule of law in Bulgaria. He pointed out that the biggest corruption scandals have been associated with GERB's leadership at different times. He described the government as completely lacking principles, stating: "We witness the political and physical survival of a parliamentary group, a party, the final cash-out of a business project by Slavi Trifonov, and the ambition of a few people, who were first supporters, and later became rivals of [former BSP leader] Korneliya Ninova, to become ministers. We also see [DRF leader] Ahmed Dogan, whose party would not exist if new elections were to happen, desperate for a lifeline.”