„Most Bulgarians breathed a sigh of relief after the government was formed. The timelessness had to be stopped. There is no doubt that the big winner is GERB. Borisov achieved success - his party received legitimacy and entered the government. The question is what does this mean for the BSP and the ITN? For them, the risks are too great.“
With this analysis, the conversation began on Darik Radio's program „Who is talking?“ Sergey Stanishev.
„Good-natured advice to the members of the SSU (Cooperative Governance Council): to restore trust with transparency and explanations of the decisions made. This will not happen with press releases. I can express one personal regret from the time of the Triple Coalition: we did not keep transcripts of the meetings of the Coalition Council. They could have been a textbook on policy-making and coalition relations. We would sit for hours, and then the leaders would go out to a press conference, together with the relevant ministers and chairmen of committees in parliament. If the ruling party wants the government to survive for two or more years, they must overcome the deficit of truth and faith in the institutions.“
The fate of the BSP should not be a twin of that of the government
Asked about the participation of the BSP in the cabinet, Stanishev replied that “in its difficult situation and with these election results, the left should not have entered the coalition, but should have kept its distance. It could have acted responsibly enough by supporting the government in the plenary hall. That way, there would also be a tool for defending policies – The majority in the National Assembly would depend on it. The fate of the left should not be allowed to be a twin of that of the cabinet. The BSP is a party with a hundred-year history, its leadership took a very risky action.“
The left's sneaky entry into the government left a bitter taste that it is there for the posts
„The sneaky entry left a bitter taste that we are there for the posts of the leadership and another 200-300 party activists. I do not know who is actually leading the negotiations, but none of the BSP's important pre-election commitments found a place in the Agreement. The only way to correct this mistake is for the Congress to set political conditions for the coalition and give specific tasks to the government and our ministers in it.“
Three important issues face the BSP
„The first – we owe an explanation for our timid entry into power.
The second: what kind of party is the BSP after the eight-year rule of Cornelia Ninova? Who do we represent? Are we returning to the left, to the social? But not to the social as a distribution of only benefits or money from the budget. We live in new realities. The mission of the BSP at the moment should be to assist working people in the transformations of the labor market, of businesses, of entire sectors. People must receive security, retraining and a painless transition from one job to another. This is a huge field for left-wing politics.
The third: what do we think about the future of Bulgaria and how will we be useful to our country? And in this sense, how do we appear in the next elections, after participating in such a coalition?
My candidacy for chairman is a tool to answer these questions and return politics to the BSP
„I believe that despite all the disappointments, the values of the BSP have not changed. It is important to send a clear message to society that we do not participate in governance for the sake of positions. We must propose serious policies to the government and the parliament. Signs in this direction can be given very quickly: demography is an important priority with consensus between the parties. Right now - when discussing the 2025 budget - 100 million leva should be set aside for the reproductive health of Bulgarians. And the cabinet's management program should include horizontal demographic measures, coordinated by the Deputy Prime Minister of the left. Important issues such as energy and transport poverty, depopulation of the regions, the water crisis and youth policies have remained unanswered for years. Our representatives head the relevant ministries, measures can be taken immediately.“
The party needs more conversation than a chairman
This is how Stanishev metaphorically answered a question about whether there is trading for positions before the Congress session. “I will not participate in this game. I am trying to help the party see meaning in its existence and in its political behavior. I want to bring politics back to the BSP and above all - to bring back the camaraderie, the conversation between us. Unfortunately, with the loss of its democracy, the left has lost its internal conversation - human and political. It is time to restore it before it is too late.“