"We all want a regular government. PP support for a regular government is clearly stated how - it is not so difficult and scary to sign the declaration, to adopt this legislation related to the "sanitary cordon" and to unblock conversations. We have very clear conditions under which we would support".
This was stated before the BNR by Asen Vassilev - co-chairman of PP-DB.
"We have had a consistent position since before the elections. The initiative must be in the first political force. Our support depends on signing the declaration of the "sanitary cordon" around DPS-New Beginning and to be put into action accordingly. This is the main source of instability in the country at the moment and not only at the moment, but in the last 4-5 years", he explained and added:
"The first step of this declaration - that there will be no deputy presidents of the National Assembly from DPS-NN, is already a fact. But the key things remain, related to the suspension of the election of the chief prosecutor by the SJC with an expired term, the election of a new leadership of the anti-corruption commission and several other legislative changes laid down in the declaration.
In his words, the legislative changes proposed in the Judiciary Act are not in view of Mr. Borislav Sarafov. According to him, the selection procedure itself should be much more transparent and there should be a hearing of the candidates in the parliament.
"If there is going to be someone acting temporarily, the idea is not to use it as a back door to appoint someone without competition, but to have a maximum period of 6 months and then it's another person - yes the prosecutors are turning around in this position", Vassilev added.
According to him, these are fundamental changes that should happen not in view of one or another person.
"We will sit down for talks first on this declaration and after an agreement is reached on it and it is signed, only after that there can be talks about something else,", the PP-DB co-chairman was categorical. He recalled that the talks were public. We see quite large differences with the BSP in the vision of the country's development in key sectors, he emphasized. In this sense, the GERB - PP-DB - BSP - ITN configuration for a possible government is almost impossible for him.
"This is the normal, reasonable, calm approach that steps on real documents. We do not overestimate our contribution to the arithmetic majority. PP-DB has 37 deputies. Many majorities can be made, outside the PP, if this is such a stumbling block.
In an interview for the show "Sunday 150" Asen Vassilev declared that they do not part with DB, but on some issues they have different positions. Asked about the excluded Daniel Laurer and Yavor Bozhankov, he answered:
"Achieving results is key for us. If there are people who put their own ego or views above achieving the result that the party has set as a goal, and which has been duly accepted and worked for over time, then these people have no place in the party. Politics is a team sport, not an individual one. Everyone must make a clear understanding of whether or not their actions are sabotaging certain decisions".
The co-chairman of PP-DB denied that there were talks with "Vazrazhdane" for support.
"Yes, Bulgaria" included Peevski and DPS as part of the constitutional majority in the conversation. We thought that the constitutional reform was important and we supported our coalition partner", Vassilev recalled the events in the previous parliament.
According to him, what can make a difference is entirely in the hands of "Democratic Bulgaria":
"We will not sit down for negotiations with GERB before they sign the sanitary cordon. This shows that a political decision was made not to allow Peevski's influence. There is no way to talk with GERB until they clearly show with actions that they have made such a political decision. If from "Yes, Bulgaria" decide that even though the cordon has not been signed, they want to hold talks, this will be their political decision, which enters into a very deep rift in our views on how Bulgaria should be governed".
The only 2 administrations - not very stable, but regular, in the last 3 years were created by the PP, reminded Asen Vassilev. According to him, this was key to dealing with a number of crises that arose as a result of the war in Ukraine. "It turned out that almost all the systems of the state are not prepared at all. It was necessary to react extremely quickly and to mobilize systems to work in a way that was quite a heart attack, he pointed out.
In his words, then governments were possible because there was a clear management and legislative program. We do not see GERB having such an approach now, the politician noted his opinion.
Budget 2025
After the elections, it is normal for them to conduct soundings with the political parties in order to submit a budget as close as possible to what the parliament would adopt, commented Asen Vassilev. According to him, the talks in the National Assembly can start next week.
However, he pointed out that they have not seen a budget option. We have discussed various measures and their effects, the financier pointed out and added that they expressed their opinion about which of them they would support and which would not.
"You can't say on your knees how much it is. The whole law needs to be seen, how it is put together and how the funds are distributed. This is a complex matter - the devil is in the detail.
I left the budget in surplus, noted Asen Vassilev. These 18 billion every finance minister sees them every year in August, he pointed out, explaining that all departments put in their wildest wishes, then the real conversation begins about what will happen and what won't. This is not something unexpected and new, the financier emphasized and was categorical:
"There is no hole in the budget. There are discrepancies between the wishes of the officials and the capabilities of the treasury.
Syria
The analysis for Bulgaria of the situation in Syria should be done by the services with additional information, beyond what is seen on the news, commented Asen Vassilev. According to him, additional destabilization in the area does not help in any way.
We are entering a second cold war between the US and China, where Russia is the junior partner, he pointed out. According to him, it is too dangerous to have a conflict in Taiwan, but a series of conflicts is starting around Russia.
"We need to sort out the entire systems of the country with the idea that we will be in a rather unstable political area, most likely with multiple military conflicts around us.