GERB puts ultimatum to We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria over Budget
Meeting on November 11, Boiko Borissov’s GERB party made no decision about leaving the de facto ruling majority, but Borissov threatened that this could happen if the party’s demands regarding the next proposed Budget were not met by one of its partners in the coalition, We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria.
Borissov and other senior members of GERB singled out Finance Minister Assen Vassilev for criticism and issued an ultimatum to WCC-DB, that if GERB’s proposals are not included in the Budget, GERB may leave the ruling majority.
“If GERB’s policies are not listed by name in this Budget, I know what the parliamentary group is telling me and I will join them,” Borissov said at the meeting, which involved the leadership, regional coordinators, MPs and mayors from the party.
Contrary to expectations, GERB’s demands do not include more personnel from the party in government.
The party’s demands, which Borissov said would see take a hard line in pressing, include no increases in taxes, and also enough money to cover all the infrastructure projects of the GERB-run municipalities.
Borissov accused Vassilev of placing a hidden deficit of seven billion leva in the draft Budget, which would come to light when GERB’s Maria Gabriel takes over the Prime Minister in a rotation planned for early next year.
The GERB leader said that Vassilev wants to increase taxes, but in such a way as to transfer the responsibility for the increase in taxes to the mayors of municipalities, nearly half of which are from GERB.
“We will vote on the Budget in its part on investments for municipalities, only if it is clearly written which municipality will receive how much money and what will be done with the funds,” Borissov said.
“We will want the Budget to include what is most vitally important for the municipalities. We must convince our people that it makes sense to stay in this assemblage,” he said, using a term lately used to describe the de facto ruling coalition.
We have complete the Euro-Atlantic things,” he said, adding that everything had already been voted for “so that Bulgaria cannot shift from its Euro-Atlantic orientation”.
(Photo: GERB)
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