The protest vote on June 9 can be consolidated around Ninova and BSP, because it is the only one that keeps its word, did not enter into collaboration with GERB, with DPS and was consistent in its policy. This is what political scientist Dr. Kaloyan Metodiev said to “Good morning, Europe” on Euronews.
- Breaking news from last night, literally tonight. A third foreign minister changes in a week. The Foreign Ministry became a very airy place. How do you comment on this casting, Mr. Metodiev?
- The casting is scandalous. And that's the mildest thing I can say, because it's a business office. Cabinet offices across Europe are concerned solely with conducting fair elections and must do so neutrally, equidistant from all parties, without dealing with current politics. And we are reaching a situation in which the leader of GERB asked Glavchev to replace the foreign minister, it is not clear for what reasons, and Glavchev an hour later submitted a request to the president for his replacement.
- According to Borisov, Stefan Dimitrov may back down from Bulgaria's position regarding support for Ukraine.
- I will say it again - the official cabinet should deal with the conduct of fair elections neutrally, equidistant from all parties.
- What could be the purpose of this shift then?
- Whatever the purpose – it is not the job of a leader of a political party contesting elections to order a caretaker prime minister to replace a minister or to conduct any personnel policy. Because it violates the principle of the functioning of an official cabinet, casts doubt on the fairness of the elections, makes other political forces and society define this cabinet as a GERB cabinet.
In this sense, in my opinion, Glavchev should immediately resign, because he cannot guarantee that he is neutral, that he does not fulfill the will of Borisov and that he will hold fair elections. Second – Glavchev cannot return to the Audit Chamber either, because the Audit Chamber controls the entire state sector from the point of view of its finances, and there will also remain the doubt that he is fulfilling the will of this same Borisov.
- I.e. send him unemployed?
- I think he failed as Prime Minister after what he did.
- And if Daniel Mitov is the better option for foreign minister?
- Here we are not talking about professional qualities, I say again – may be the best possible specialists in the state, we have 8 weeks during which they must ensure the functioning of the state at the level of conducting fair elections. This is the meaning of the service cabinet – he is not elected by anyone and is not charged with political expectations to carry out a certain policy – be it social or otherwise.
- I.e. is this some kind of demonstration by the GERB leader – to harden their cores: here our good expert will take Externally? I am trying to understand the logic of this behavior.
- Historically, he already burned Glavchev once as the Speaker of the Parliament, last night he burned him for the second time by hugging him, sticking to him, ordering him to fulfill his request. Which Glavchev fulfilled immediately. So that all possible principles are violated.
Did Borisov do it out of stupidity, did he do it out of fear – he is afraid of something that happened, whether he did it deliberately to demonstrate something, that I cannot say, that will become clear in the coming days. But surely Borisov is worried about something to take this radical step. And Glavchev, in this case, I'm sorry for the expression, but most commentators – regardless of liberal, conservative or left space, they are, like Borisov's secretary.
- The official office is of GERB, right?
- That's where all the signs point.
- But the interior minister is standing his ground.
- He was also fought to the death by GERD. While PP-DB wanted his resignation, GERB got busy and said that they can give up on everything else, they are also ready to overthrow the cabinet – the cabinet of the assembly, just not to give way to the interior minister.
The whole situation in the country is distorted. The Central Election Commission, which is supposed to hold elections, is functioning, working, the registration procedures have been going on since yesterday, let it continue to work purely technologically on securing the elections. The cabinet was simply to ensure the conduct of a technical process.
- Yes, but in recent years we have witnessed how official offices deal with everything else and holding elections. I.e. the “Glavchev” cabinet is no exception.
- No, but the cabinet “Glavchev” upgraded Radev's offices. Radev severely abused the tool of the official offices, turned them into a one-man power. There is an OSCE report that he interfered in the election - there were 26 observers from 19 countries. Signed a contract with Botash – treacherous for Bulgaria, fired 14 thousand people. The idea of the constitutional changes was to stop this lawlessness, with what Radev was doing in relation to the official offices and how he was abusing his power back then.
However, we come to the next step “Glavchev”, where Boyko Borisov builds on this model and already makes it an office of GERB. He doesn't hide from her. Radev was trying to hide, mimicking.
- There are also changes in the energy sector, as you have seen – change of bosses there.
- This is precisely why GERB blocked the Law on Office Cabinets in January – what an office can do, what people can go inside. This law was deliberately blocked by GERB, it was not adopted and you can see now - it was obviously with the idea of changing personnel en masse. Because even on the second echelon in the last 6 days of the “Glavchev” to massively appoint cadres who have fallen out of the Metropolitan Municipality, deputy ministers.
- Are you expecting other changes in the office?
- Nothing is excluded, after what is happening in Bulgaria. The last thing we have as a certainty is that there is some predictability on the part of the so-called ruling majority – I mean here both the assembly and the president who have been running the country for the last year and a half.
- And one more news from last night – Zhivko Kotsev was summoned for questioning. We'll see if he gets charged. Are you expecting this saga to unfold?
- I see that this is being tried to be kept afloat by all possible means by certain circles connected to GERB and DPS, in order to hit the PP-DB election campaign. In this war between the two parts of the assembly, there is obviously a lot of propaganda, falsehoods, smoke – so we can't be sure what exactly is going on and has been going on behind the scenes. Surely this person Zhivko Kotsev was not for this position, he turned out to be unfit and ready to pose as a high school graduate for an hour.
- Should Boyko Rashkov also be questioned?
- Certainly he exposed himself last week with these ridiculous explanations – you can't be the minister of the interior and say: I don't know who's coming to my birthday, some people were walking down the street, they came in, and - it's a birthday party here, let us in, a very nice person, let's take a picture. Frivolous.
- In any case, the reputational blow is to PP-DB. Yesterday, Asen Vassilev commented that they will not govern with GERB after the elections. Are we to believe these political declarations or can we see them together again after the elections in the name of Euro-Atlantic values etc.
- Definitely. I also listen to gen. Atanasov, who says – not to cross certain boundaries, because after the elections we have to talk again. Yesterday, someone else from the PP said that one should be careful because there is a lot to talk about after the elections regarding the government. And Kiril Petkov stated that they would form a coalition with GERB, but without certain people from the leadership. I.e. at the moment they are exhausting each other, he divorces heavily with the idea of killing the other to the maximum, but also with the line that permeates all their behavior that after the election there is nothing to be done – they must meet again. What I can say is that the situation is such that an alternative to this whole thing must be sought, because it is one.
- Yes, experts see a very large protest vote, discontent that will break out somewhere. But who will be able to win this protest vote? Will they make it for June 9 or maybe – next fall? And is this really the presidential party?
- I think he was stopped from doing it – March 3 was registered as a political project in the patent office, some people got ready and in the end nothing happened. This will be Radev's fourth or fifth project. It must be stopped because a sitting president cannot, within constitutional powers, use the state resource and make N number of political parties: he supported ITN while I was still in the presidency, supported them logistically, then created PP – don't think that they came from somewhere and in 2 months, oops, they made a party. This requires hundreds of people in the country, an organization, structures, money, advocates, a network. It cannot be done without logistics. I.e. he did this party too. Support the “Left” in the last election, officially with his advisors who participated in the election process.
To answer your question - I doubt it will. His attempts have so far been successful. And already the whole society saw that he violated the Constitution.
- Where will the protest vote go then?
- The protest vote can, on the one hand, be consolidated around Ninova and BSP, because she is the only one who keeps her word, no collaboration with GERB, with DPS, was consistent in politics during these years.
- But there is a lot of internal turbulence there.
- Which are also created by GERB and by parts of the DPS within, which are financed through the Metropolitan Municipality, through various other structures, through GERB municipalities, so that the formation can be shaken.
Of course – some may also see “Revival”. Which is absurd, because this party does not have the capacity to manage purely managerially, like managing people, like experience – it is relevant only in this respect: let us leave the EU, NATO, let us not enter the Eurozone. There is some destructive impulse there that is devoid of any rationality. But let's not forget that processes started there as well – it is expected that more deputies from their parliamentary group will leave, the swarming is large, I see that they have become radicalized, they have taken many anti-Semitic positions.
In general, the entire party and political system, the institutional system is currently shaking. The country is in a political crisis – It is clear. But the moment provides an opportunity - we have proven that after similar crises we make leaps, catching up with other EU countries. For me, this crisis is an opportunity and I call – to go out, to vote, to participate in politics. Now is the time.
- Are you expecting a political remake on June 9?
- I fervently hope that there won't be one, because the reform of the assembly gave birth to a restoration that we have seen at the moment - the return of GERB on a white horse. Thank God, I think this is a false comeback and it won't last long. And it was precisely because of this yesterday that Borisov's nervous reaction and loss of nerve regarding ordering what people to appoint or fire in the office.