The BSP's participation in power – in a coalition with GERB, „Ima takvi narod“ (ITN), with the support of „DPS - Novo nacholo“, was a mistake, announced in an interview for the program „Tazi smrana“ on bTV, BSP MP Ivan Petkov.
Petkov supported the vote of no confidence against the government, which was voted for his resignation. The socialist specified that his decision was dictated by conversations with party members and structures, including in Plovdiv.
According to him, at the BSP plenum on October 26, he insisted that the party leave the coalition, warning that ties with Delyan Peevski would lead to serious public protests – a prediction that, according to him, was confirmed by the demonstrations on December 1.
According to Ivan Petkov Peevski has a strong influence on the BSP leadership and on decisions made in parliament. As an example, he cited the sudden inclusion of items on the National Assembly agenda related to regulators and services, which, according to him, appeared after public statements by the leader of “DPS – A new beginning“.
“We cannot watch the program for the week on Tuesday, and on Wednesday new points that serve specific interests“ appear, Petkov said. He added that he had voted “against“ on some of these proposals, along with other colleagues.
The MP named specific names from the party leadership, including chairman Atanas Zafirov, chairman of the parliamentary group Dragomir Stoyanov and Kiril Dobrev, with whom he had sharp disputes regarding the direction of the party's development.
Petkov stressed that the BSP leadership has lost trust, referring to sociological data according to which approval of the party leader is even lower than that of Delyan Peevski. According to him, there are already positions against Zafirov and the leadership from local structures, including in Plovdiv and from the Youth Union of the Bulgarian Socialist Party.
Petkov recalled that from the very beginning he was against the participation of the Bulgarian Socialist Party in a government with GERB and Boyko Borisov. According to him, this was contrary to the party's decisions, including the commitment to a "sanitary cordon" around Delyan Peevski.
“We cannot speak against Borisov and Peevski during the campaign, and after the elections enter a cabinet with GERB“, he said.
Ivan Petkov calls for a BSP congress to be convened, which would lead to a change of the chairman and leadership, as well as a serious change in the party's political line. He stressed that the BSP is a “clash of ideas and wings“, including with different geopolitical views, and that the debate about its future is yet to come.
“If we continue to remain silent, the party will continue to lose trust“, concluded Petkov.