It is not clear whether the government has withdrawn the budget or frozen it. With this statement by Borisov, ahead of schedule, before the official announcement, he took a symbolic leadership position. He showed that he is in command. I do not believe that Peevski could have overtaken him in this situation. The strategy has changed, their positions have been exchanged. This was stated to bTV by political scientist Prof. Rumyana Kolarova, quoted by novini.bg
In her words, this had to happen sooner or later.
Andrey Raichev, a sociologist, emphasized: “Let's look at what Borisov is reacting to. He says he is withdrawing the budget, he says he can do with the old one. This would mean freezing the pensions and salaries of civil servants. He is not reacting to this protest, but to future ones. In the country, it seems is a protest wave rising that resembles the one in 2020. He says: “I will not be a target of this“. The target will be Peevski.“
He believes that both sides of the opposition, referring to PP-DB and “Vazrazhdane“, are doing so to eliminate what the government holds - the divided opposition.
“Forward“ is Peevski's logic within the party. This is the first time he is in conflict with the people as the leader of a party. It is clear that Borisov is trying to put him in his place, because the supporting party cannot blackmail, claiming to be the leader“, added Kolarova.
Raichev drew attention: “When we go to the elections, they ask us what to becomes – who is on the left, who is on the right. At the protest, the question is what should stop. These are different questions. Protesters can maintain any differences, being united in their goal, until they bring him down. Borisov is not just clearly different from Peevski for the first time – he does it consciously. A month ago, Borisov initiated sharp criticism of the Cabinet of Ministers and demanded that Zhelyazkov be replaced with him. “The “No“ came from Peevski.“
When asked why the draft budget was not withdrawn earlier, Kolarova said: “This is a simpleton. Everyone knows that the NSTS was created to resolve conflicts and balance a decision. The unions' considerations against this budget are opposite to those of the employers. You should spare yourself the Tripartite Council, which is working in a direction that reduces tension and the state appears as arbitrator... The state has shown simplicity.“
Regarding the BSP's request that they will reconsider their participation in the government if their social goals set out in the draft budget are not achieved, she added: „BSP is satisfied with what is in the budget. Until now, the Bulgarian government has served business in every way, now for the first time they are stepping on it. BSP is extremely keen on this.“
„There are enough irritants and they are related to the fact that the situation is certainly very temporary. It cannot be allowed for something to remain stable in Bulgaria until the war in Ukraine is resolved. The presence of Putin as an irritant keeps Peevski as an internal irritant until the war stops“, added Raichev.