Atanas Zafirov said that he would run for chairperson of the BSP in order to preserve the fragile peace achieved on the left. The then-chairman of “BSP–United Left” said this on the programme “Offensive with Lyubo Ognyanov”.
“I would run for chairperson of the BSP so that the fragile peace achieved on the left would not be torpedoed,” Zafirov said.
The conditions for supporting a government
According to him, GERB-SDS had not raised the issue of support for a joint government. Zafirov described an expert cabinet with clear political support as the most successful model of governance.
He said that the BSP would support a government given a stable structure and matching priorities. According to him, there had been no negotiations between the BSP and GERB on governance, but rather talks on specific policies.
The topics discussed included stopping the liberalisation of electricity for household consumers, the development of nuclear energy, renegotiating the terms of the “Green Deal”, the 2025 Budget and preserving social rights.
“It is a very ugly manipulation to claim that the BSP cannot govern and always leaves office having caused damage,” Zafirov said.
The position on GERB and parliamentary dialogue
Zafirov described relations between the BSP and GERB as strongly antagonistic and compared them to the rivalry between CSKA and “Levski”. He said that the Socialists were категорically opposed to Boyko Borisov becoming prime minister, as well as to another purely party figure heading the government.
At the time, he also said that the BSP had not discussed the post of Speaker of the National Assembly with other parties, including the candidacy of Assoc. Prof. Natalia Kiselova. According to him, the party would take part in a meaningful discussion with “We Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria”, whose anti-corruption legislative measures it had supported in principle.
How the leadership contest unfolded
In February 2025, the 51st Congress of the BSP elected Atanas Zafirov chairperson of the party’s National Council. In the runoff, he received 422 votes against 365 for Borislav Gutsanov.
On February 7, 2026, Zafirov resigned as chairperson of the BSP. In his statement, he said that he was proud of his work for the party.
In the November 2024 interview, Zafirov also defended the idea that the president should have powers in the formation of a caretaker cabinet. According to him, the caretaker government model had turned into party rule and the institutional balance had to be restored.