Ataka leader Siderov breaks silence to hint at support for no-confidence vote
In his first remarks to reporters in Sofia since his party was vanquished in Bulgaria’s May 25 European Parliament elections, far-right Ataka leader Volen Siderov said that his party might support the motion of no confidence in the government and called for early parliamentary elections on July 20.
Siderov spoke to reporters on arrival at the National Assembly on June 11, the day of debate on centre-right opposition GERB’s motion of no confidence in the cabinet on the grounds of the government’s failings in financial policy, and the morning after Siderov was spotted among guests at a reception at the Russian embassy.
Siderov has hardly been heard of since his party was trounced in the European Parliament elections, getting even fewer votes than its National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria ultra-nationalist rival.
He said that his party “could help” in the motion of no confidence in the government and might support it “if it has a serious intention”.
Siderov said that he expected talks with those who tabled the motion, “but I do not see their leader. He is on a trip, probably to get instructions in the US”. This was a reference to GERB leader Boiko Borissov, who is a week-long visit to Washington DC.
The Ataka leader, whose vote in May 2013 made possible the National Assembly election of the current government in which Plamen Oresharski sits in the prime minister’s chair, and whose party has tacitly supported the Bulgarian Socialist Party-Movement for Rights and Freedoms coalition, had harsh words for Oresharski.
Oresharski had not proven that he was doing anything useful for the country. He had failed to fulfil hopes for social policies, had not done basic things expected of him and had done something “highly disgraceful” in “bowing down in front of an unscrupulous American lobbyist to tell him that Bulgaria will not implement the South Stream project,” Siderov said.
Oresharski had proven to be just the latest colonial puppet, the Ataka leader said.
Siderov and some of his MPs held an impromptu demonstration in front of the National Assembly, chanting “resignation” and calling for early parliamentary elections on July 20.
Siderov, whose party wants Bulgaria’s European Parliament elections overturned, said that the elections had been the “most bought” on the planet, alleging that the biggest vote-buyer was Bulgaria Without Censorship, the party formed around former talk show host Nikolai Barekov.
The Ataka leader said that he was sure that his party would win seats in the next National Assembly – a confidence not reflected in opinion polls which see Siderov’s party as having no chance of being returned to the 43rd National Assembly.
