This parliament is exhausted for many reasons, including public discontent. Of course, as a responsible party, if we get a third mandate, we will discuss it in the party, but I think that there is a high probability that there is no option for a new government within this National Assembly. The sooner we go to elections, the better, so as not to generate additional public tension. He said this in the program "Face to Face" on bTV, the resigned Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the BSP Atanas Zafirov, quoted by novini.bg.
A year ago, we faced a dilemma whether to remain in opposition or to enter a rather heterogeneous government and try to realize some of our goals. It was clear that if we succeed, the success will be for all citizens, and if we fail, the responsibility will be for us. We bear responsibility for the fact that we failed to convince our partners that this government should continue as it began. From the very beginning, there were many warnings to us that such a scenario could happen, and it eventually happened. Since we believe in the values of democracy, after the protests and the resignation of the cabinet, our leadership resigned. And my resignation has always been in my pocket since the first day I took over the leadership of the party. This will be the easiest decision for me. The option of me resigning was discussed, but the Executive Bureau categorically decided that in this situation the chairman should remain and bear responsibility. It is worth carrying this burden for the sake of the survival not only of the BSP, but also of the left.
I am not ashamed of anything that the BSP has done in this government. We made one mistake– we did not create a good enough level of communication within the party, to explain why certain things are happening and what our participation in them is. This was actually a mistake of the government as well, he added.
We insisted on the adoption of a regular budget for 2026 because we knew very well what awaits Bulgaria if we enter the eurozone with the extended budget. Those who demanded this change must now be prepared to bear the consequences of this change. If the government had remained operating normally, the positives from the regular budget would have been felt very quickly, the resigned Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.
Asked whether the BSP supports the proposal for fully machine voting in the upcoming early parliamentary elections, the socialist pointed out that every Bulgarian citizen should have the right to choose how to vote.
We will participate very actively in this debate, we will discuss the issue very seriously and we will make a decision. But whenever quick decisions are made on the eve of the elections, this does not lead to good results. Let us not repeat past mistakes, the BSP leader pointed out.
If it will be machine voting, not with these machines, their imperfections were visible, there were many reasons for doubts - scanning machines are more suitable. This topic leads to division in society, nothing good awaits us, warned Atanas Zafirov.
He also commented on the disturbing photo in which he is photographed from behind entering the office of the leader of the MRF-New Beginning Delyan Peevski.
That day I was in many other offices because of the budget. I was in this office to discuss pensions and social benefits, social policy. It is a pity that the level of politics has come down to this. One of my roles was to be a kind of glue and a kind of balancer in this difficult government. It is a pity that politics has been reduced to rumors. The influence of New Beginning is exactly as much as the number of their deputies. I would not rule out the influence of any political force that gives added value to the policies for which we entered government. In the same way, they worked with the PP-DB, who waved the icon of resistance, Zafirov said.
He specified that he learned about the government's resignation about an hour before the prime minister submitted it.
The moment I learned, talks were immediately held with the partners. GERB did not ask us whether to resign, but ultimately they are the mandate holder and it is their decision to resign. We defended the thesis that at this moment there should be no resignation - we cannot enter the eurozone with the old budget. Let me be a bad prophet, but when in January the Bulgarian citizens begin to feel the effects of the inconvenience posed by this extended budget, then they will understand, said the deputy prime minister in resignation.