At the end of the political year, the MP from GERB-SDF Toma Bykov stated in the program “Wake up“ that Raya Nazaryan will not want to become the acting prime minister, as this would mean leaving political life. He predicted that the upcoming elections will not produce a majority of 121 deputies.
The consultations with the president and the role of Rumen Radev
Bykov commented on the fact that Denitsa Sacheva appeared alone at the consultations with the head of state, defining these meetings as “formal“. According to him, GERB has been there many times and the talks no longer have any real motivation.
„Ms. Sacheva very clearly told the president that if he wanted, he could make his own political project and compete with us in the parliamentary elections. Mr. Radev has transformed the presidential institution from a mediator into a major player in the political arena over the past 8 years. It's like the referee calling his own penalties and scoring them himself“, said Bikov.
Possible political partnerships
When asked whether Rumen Radev could be a partner of GERB in the future, Bikov replied that this is the first time he has heard such a suspicion.
„We are bystanders in this process. We see Mr. Radev in his role as president, who in our opinion is abusing the institution. Let's first see his political project. We are for political dialogue, including with our opponents, and we have shown it many times“, he explained.
Election results forecast
Bykov expressed serious skepticism that the upcoming elections will solve the crisis or that any party will receive an independent majority.
“No one will get 121 deputies. Even if Mr. Radev shows up with all hopes for him, he is not in a position. Reality will again require a conversation if we are going to form a government at all. The degree of tension will lead to the fact that after the next elections there will most likely be no regular government and there will be another election. There is no guarantee that after another election there won't be another one“, the MP predicted.
The Budget and Wage Indexation
Regarding GERB's support for the indexation of budget wages, despite their criticism, Bykov explained that the party did not want to be accused of blocking income.
“This is illegal. First, it is not clear how much it will cost – the range is between 80 and 120 million euros. There is no specific number written anywhere. We supported it because otherwise it would have been said: “You see, because of these, they don't want to increase your income“.“, he argued.
The NSO's security for the people's representatives
On the topic of eliminating security for deputies, Bykov described the PP-DB proposal as a “pre-election message“ and “part of the game“.
“Security is not a privilege, it means limiting your personal space and depriving yourself of your freedom. The PP-DB colleagues want to get us into a game in which we are “for“, and they are “against“. We supported it in the committee only to show them that we have no intention of participating in this game. "They themselves then said that a working group should be formed for changes between the first and second reading," Bykov explained.