Borissov: WCC-Democratic Bulgaria bid to get government elected will fail
GERB-UDF leader Boiko Borissov said on May 17 that if his coalition’s bid to get a government elected failed, so would a second bid by the We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria coalition.
Borissov was speaking on the day after WCC-DB confirmed, after internal coalition talks, that it would not support a government nominated by GERB-UDF – holder of the first mandate to do so – but would begin preparing to use the second mandate should the first one fail.
WCC-DB MP Stoyu Stoev told Bulgarian National Television on May 17 that if matters reached the stage of the second mandate, which would be held by WCC-DB, the coalition would nominate a minority government with a governance programme for 18 months.
Stoyev said that WCC-DB would seek support from all other parliamentary groups, but would not include GERB figures in its proposed government.
Borissov said: “If it doesn’t happen in the first mandate, with these demands from the other parties, it won’t happen in the second”.
He said that GERB-UDF’s candidate Prime Minister, Maria Gabriel, should continue talks in search of support.
Gabriel told reporters in Parliament that she would fulfil the first mandate and present the structure and line-up of a proposed government to President Roumen Radev on May 22, the expiry of the seven-day deadline to do so.
“I will fulfill the mandate and return to the President,” Gabriel said.
“I remain open to talks with everyone, but we are already moving to the next stage – support for a government with the first mandate with clear topics and priorities, an expert government for one year. We will now talk about names and composition of the cabinet,” she said.
No names had been discussed so far, Gabriel said.
Asked if GERB-UDF would support a government nominated by WCC-DB, she said that there was no political logic in such a decision.
Meanwhile, WCC-DB said on May 17 that it was starting talks with all parliamentary groups on amendments to the constitution.
These included restructuring the Supreme Judicial Council, slashing the power of the Prosecutor-General, introduction of direct constitutional appeal or providing maximum access of the people to constitutional justice, and rethinking the institution of caretaker government to make it focused solely on organising elections, not a source for a quasi-presidential regime.
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