Massive, decisive and impressive in intensity - this is how former justice minister Krum Zarkov described the anti-government protest of December 1, which he himself attended. In “This Morning” on bTV, he stated that people filled the center of Sofia with the categorical intention of putting an end to the “mafiatization of the state“.
“The people shook this government because they hit its bearer centrally. This bearer, in recent months, has been Delyan Peevski alone. This square stood up against it. In political terms, what has been happening since the protest is that the majority is doing everything possible to explain that this process is aimed at certain operational solutions and can be overcome with technical measures, and this will not happen. The very legitimacy of this government is under attack“, commented Zarkov.
In his words, if the cabinet wants to survive, it must distinguish itself from the one who “fills the protest“. According to him, the GERB leader is already trying to distance himself from the chairman of the MRF-NN Delyan Peevski.
“Borisov found himself in a situation that is atypical for him in the last 15 years – to appear to be associated. He tried to react a few weeks ago after the elections in Pazardzhik, but this reaction failed. Yesterday he did two things – on the one hand, he responded to the protest – "I will assume" that he will isolate Peevski's influence a little. On the other hand, he is mobilizing his own party because he understands that this cannot last long," the lawyer added.
Zarkov pointed out that the people at the protest consider Peevski and Borisov as one entity. He believes that from the very beginning this government has been supported by the support of the MRF-NN and their leader. He added that the parties in parliament should return to the idea of a "sanitary cordon" around Peevski and organize the end of this government.
„If they continue to hide their heads in the sand, there will be more protests, they will be even more numerous, the parliament will be blocked due to the inability to function. This government will only fill the chairs of ministers. A government that cannot push its budget through parliament does not actually have a majority. One way to overthrow the government is with a vote of no confidence, the other is by rejecting its budget“, Zarkov specified.
According to him, the cabinet can last until the presidential elections at most and they will lose political capital with every day of delay.
„The very fact that Delyan Peevski starts playing the ethnic card without any reason, since no ethnicity was mentioned at all at this protest. This is indicative that he feels destabilized, has no argument to answer for this and feels threatened, but does it ineptly. Because he believes that he can speak on behalf of these people because he has taken their party away. The fact that he has mastered the MRF brand, however, does not mean that he is in a position like previous party leaders to speak on behalf of these people“, Zarkov said.
He pointed out that it is possible for Peevski to organize people for a counter-protest, but the categorical rejection of this power is not only taking place in the square, but in the store, public transport and in the entire public system.
Zarkov condemned the riots and vandalism. According to him, although the demonstration was organized by the PP-DB, it already exceeded the framework of the party's demands in the first hour. “While the organizers were talking about the budget, the protest demanded the withdrawal of Peevski's influence and an end to the governance model“, he specified.