The chairman of the budget committee in parliament, Delyan Dobrev, identified his GERB party as the biggest loser in the current political situation. In the program "In Focus with Lora Krumova" on NOVA, he commented on the scandals surrounding the adoption of the budget, the tension in the "assembly" and the future of the government.
►"Left" budget and compromises
Dobrev did not hide his criticism of the budget proposed by Finance Minister Assen Vassilev.
"I do not like the last five budgets, not only this one. No, probably the last eight budgets. Since 2021, there has not been a single budget that meets the goals and policies of the GERB party. They have always been coalition or have not been ours," he said.
According to him, the state's tax system is not sustainable and in order to get within the 3% deficit, taxes or social security contributions must be raised. Dobrev emphasized that GERB has made many compromises in the name of the big goal - entering the eurozone.
"The biggest loser in this situation is GERB. GERB, with its actions, with the formation of this cabinet, with the voting on these budgets, GERB has largely sacrificed itself for this, for the great goal of us entering the eurozone," said the MP.
►The Scandal in the Budget Committee
Dobrev also commented on the tension during the budget committee meeting, at which shouts and insults were heard. According to him, the behavior of Finance Minister Assen Vassilev was "inadequate".
"What is abnormal is to shout into the microphone for an hour and a half during a budget committee in an open session", said Dobrev.
He denied bearing personal blame for the escalation of tension and explained that the session lasted 6 hours, with everyone having the opportunity to speak.
►The future of the cabinet and the "assembly"
Asked about the future of the government and whether Boyko Borisov would "self-destruct" the cabinet, Dobrev answered evasively, but emphasized the GERB leader's sensitivity to public attitudes.
"If Borisov resigns, we will not have a budget. We will have a budget sometime next year, we don't know exactly when, we don't know exactly what kind, we don't know with what majority," he warned.
Dobrev expressed pessimism about the possibility of relations in the coalition being restored and normalized.
"I am a pessimist. I think that more or less the fact that we cannot conduct GERB's own policy, which is a center-right policy, and we have to conduct and adopt left-wing budgets. It will disappoint our people and this will reduce our support," he said.
However, the MP noted that if the government falls now, the state will be left without a budget and will have to run with 1/12 of the old one, which would be disastrous in the year of entering the eurozone.
Regarding the protests, Dobrev expressed regret that people are being manipulated into protesting without a clear goal.