Will the state start functioning normally, after last week deputies failed to gather a quorum because GERB did not register on Borisov's order. Will we see “DPS – New Beginning“ in a new role and as part of the government? What should we expect from the BSP and ITN… Political scientist Prof. Milena Stefanova speaks to FACTI.
- Ms. Stefanova, Boyko Borisov got angry after GERB came 6th in the elections in Pazardzhik, and the state stopped working. Is this normal. Could it happen in another EU country?
- The results of the elections in Pazardzhik for the municipal council were just a pretext. Yes, Borisov was angry, but in my opinion, he has been angry for a long time. Let's not forget that these are the results of partial local elections, and in a medium-sized municipality. These elections cannot be extrapolated as some kind of trend or generalized as valid for the entire country. Local elections are specific, and the Pazardzhik municipality in particular is characterized by very diverse economic interests and commitments. In this municipality, GERB has not had significant results for a long time. GERB did not even run a significant campaign for these elections. Whether this is a mistake or not, I do not know, because it is possible that they did not run a campaign because they know that they do not have positions to defend so much. Borisov is now solving problems with the coalition government of the state, because the budget for 2026, the first for Bulgaria in euros, must be adopted, and the coalition is ideologically diverse. The BSP wonders why he is angry with them, but they are overdoing it with populism and uncontrolled spending of our public money. Borisov is hardly surprised, because the BSP are socialists, but they need to be calmed down a bit. In general, there are issues with the unity of the coalition that need to be resolved if we really want the country's governance to be stable next year, and we need this in order to successfully and without turmoil enter the eurozone.
- Is “DPS – Novo nachod“ absorbing GERB, because we see how in places former cadres of Borisov's party “change course“…
- There are clientelists and careerists in every party. They reorient themselves quickly, without having any morals. Your question also contains the answer – these people are former cadres of GERB. Borisov said it himself – “those we expel“, they go to someone else. This happens in places where rumors are circulating and there are some shifts in the clientele towards the “strong” of the day. If PP-DB didn't talk about Peevski from morning till night, maybe they wouldn't create an aura of “strong” for him. I don't know the specifics, but I'm sure that economic interests in places are driving things.
- It turns out that there are ministries given on concession. Did Borisov understand this now...
- Now, concession as an instrument of the economy means that you give someone to do some things on behalf of the state, from which he profits, but also pays the state a concession fee. I don't know what it means for ministries to be given on concession. There was a significant mistake in the initial formation of the ruling coalition, but we don't know if this was not the only possible thing at that moment of the coalition's creation. The mistake is that one party is responsible for certain ministries and not only the minister, but also the deputies are from the same party, and that the parliamentary committees are also led by MPs from the same party. The temptations are great. Now, with a possible reformatting, this mistake can be corrected. Especially if the ministries are highly resource-intensive, such as the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and others, one must be very careful with coalition government.
- Criticism from Boyko Borisov was taken by the Speaker of the Parliament Natalia Kiselova, Borislav Gutsanov and Daniel Mitov. Did the GERB leader find the culprits for the party's failures in them…
- Only Daniel Mitov is from GERB. As Minister of the Interior, a sensitive ministry that has long been claimed to be conquered, Mitov is exposed to a lot of criticism and has a great responsibility. Borisov made it clear that Mitov is the political leadership and wants him to be tougher. Either someone from the professional leadership of the Ministry of Interior leaves, or the minister leaves. Well, the police chief in Pazardzhik has been removed and an investigation is underway, and on Friday Borisov said that Mitov got away with it. Gutsanov has angered Borisov because he allowed himself to make statements in the media about increasing incomes, which is clearly not coordinated in the coalition. Kiselova has long been asking for such treatment with her behavior. So apparently there is a lot to be angry with Borisov. Mostly because when you work in a coalition, you have to discuss things in advance and come up with a clear and unified position. Once again, we must say that Bulgarian politicians do not have a coalition culture.
- The BSP initially did not comment on the situation, and then said that the stability of the government is important to them. What situation are the socialists in…
- The BSP is in an extremely disadvantageous position. With very little real presence in the National Assembly, but with great ambitions. They cannot afford any other attitude at the moment. They cannot threaten and they cannot wring their hands. Therefore, they only have to demonstrate a nationally responsible position and continue. In fact, they would only gain from the stability of the state government in which they participate. It's nothing that some of their sympathizers and members do not like the coalition with GERB. However, they should humble themselves and reduce their ambitions. They will not report to their party forums how they have increased incomes, and this clearly worries them. However, they need reason.
- The ITN continue to remain silent. What move do they have?
- The ITN have no move, except to participate in the government. This would not have happened to them after early elections. They made a mistake with the submitted bill to amend the Criminal Code and incurred the just wrath of not only journalists. This is probably an action without being coordinated with the coalition partners. This is also a reason for Borisov to get angry and demand tightening of the rules of operation of the ruling coalition.
- The leader of “DPS - New Beginning“ Delyan Peevski announced that he is ready to take over the government. Will his party officially come into power?
- He said that he is ready to bear responsibility, including by participating in the government. It sounds a bit like that pioneer answer: “Always ready“. Peevski has endless ambitions and this is evident at first glance. Apparently he really wants to get involved in the government. Let's not forget that the DPS under the leadership of Dogan was also a mandate holder, and participated with party cadres in the government. Among other things, Peevski will want to prove that he can do it too. In my opinion, however, it will not work. At least as long as Peevski is the leader of the MRF, whether we put the new beginning behind him or not does not matter at all, because there is now only one MRF, this party will not participate in the governance of the country. The role of supporting the minority government is enough for it. We will see. Talks are coming.
- Respectively, which party will be eliminated?
- None, because as I said before “MPS - New Beginning“ will not officially enter a coalition. But it will continue to support the majority. As a first step, Peevski will have to be content with just holding some talks with the MRF party. In fact, it is very prestigious to support stability in the country.
- How do you see a new cabinet formula with “MPS - New Beginning“ in it…
- I don't see it. There won't be one. GERB and Boyko Borisov, in my opinion, are fully aware that this would be a disaster for GERB. Last week, after the GERB briefing, it became clear that GERB does not want early parliamentary elections. After consulting the party's assets across the country. From Borisov's statement, we learned that on Monday, talks should be held in the Council for Joint Governance between the three partners in the coalition. And after these talks, if it is considered, to invite “DPS - New Beginning“ to talks. Many media outlets read this statement as an invitation to Peevski to join the government. I don't interpret it that way. Borisov said that he had counted a lot on DB and to a lesser extent PP to show sense and ask for talks. And since this is not happening and clearly will not happen, the ruling party has no choice but to rely on support from those who give it to them. If Peevski thought, however, that he could take responsibility in a different way than the one he has been doing so far, I think he was mistaken. So the talks with Peevski and “DPS - New Beginning“ will clearly have to be in the direction of calming the endless ambitions. After months of declaring publicly every day that you will support the minority government, because this is statesmanlike behavior, because you will not throw the country into chaos, then you must fulfill your declarations. We will see. Talks are coming and the result of them will make it clear, even though no one wants early elections, whether there will be any after all. The blame can very easily be placed on the DPS, and Peevski will not want that.
It would be devastating if we end up with early elections in February.
The opposition should not rush to completely pin Borisov on Peevski. And they should not open the champagne. This is just my reading of what was said.
When we have a minority government, usually floating majorities are formed in the parliament. I think that the ruling coalition, not only GERB, but also ITN and BSP, should make more efforts and seek support from other formations – not only from “DPS – New Beginning“. This is very challenging and difficult, I realize, given the current configuration of the Bulgarian National Assembly. But efforts should be made and if PP-DB has submitted meaningful proposals, they should be supported. The opposite is also valid. If the ruling party has submitted something that can be supported, then it should be done.
- Once again, we see that what unites Borisov and Peevski is the common enemy - Rumen Radev… Are they afraid of the president's party?
- Radev cannot be a threat to either GERB or MPS-NN. I don't think it will ever come to the point of creating a Radev party. There is a circle of economic interests around him who think that such a thing is possible. There are also those who are misled by his relatively stable rating, but this rating is due not to Radev's personal qualities, but to the position he currently holds as president. This will change as soon as Radev hands over power to the next president.
With the messages that Radev sends and the actions that he takes, if some formation is created, or if he heads an already existing formation, they would draw voters from the nationalist and pro-Russian parties.
Neither GERB nor “MPS - New Beginning“ are like that. If there is one thing that unites Borisov and Peevski, it is not Radev.