GERB-UDF invites We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria to leaders meeting
Boiko Borissov’s GERB-UDF says that it has invited We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria to a leaders meeting in the Parliament building on the morning of April 25 to seek consensus on topics affecting the state and society.
GERB-UDF said that it would invite the leaders of the other parliamentary groups in the 49th National Assembly to meetings this week.
The move comes as GERB-UDF, as the largest parliamentary group, awaits being handed a mandate by President Roumen Radev to seek to form a government. Should that first mandate fail, a second would be handed to WCC-DB as the National Assembly’s second-largest group.
GERB-UDF’s Rossen Zhelyazkov, newly-elected Speaker of the National Assembly, told Nova Televizia on April 24 that most likely, GERB-UDF would propose a government and seek support from the other parliamentary groups, but without trying for a coalition formula.
Denitsa Sacheva, deputy leader of the GERB-UDF parliamentary group, told Bulgarian National Radio on April 24 that GERB-UDF and WCC-DB had different views “especially regarding public finances, for example”.
“We want clear answers – what are their intentions, because their statements are focused only on broadcasting messages that they would not do anything with GERB at the first mandate stage, but on the other hand, it seems that everything they could do with the second mandate, they can only do with GERB,” Sacheva said.
She said that it was “ridiculous” that WCC-DB was calling on GERB-UDF “to give up the mandate, not to talk about policies, not to invite anyone to a meeting and to fulfill the ultimatum of the second (largest) party.”
On the morning of April 24, Radev said that he would not be in a hurry to hand over the first mandate.
“The 49th National Assembly needs time to adopt the most important laws and decisions,” Radev said.
He said that he had held the consultations with the parliamentary groups immediately after the convening of Parliament in order to clarify their readiness for the formation of a government, the adoption of the state Budget and for passing laws.
The 49th National Assembly could not afford the luxury of not adopting critically important laws, even if there is no government, Radev said.
(Photo: parliament.bg)
Please support The Sofia Globe’s independent journalism by becoming a subscriber to our page on Patreon:
