"The way out of this situation and the survival after this scandal of "We continue the change" goes through a certain process of self-purification and, in this sense, of self-designation of those responsible for allowing such practices among their ranks".
This was stated to the Bulgarian National Radio by the sociologist from "Alpha Research" Genoveva Petrova.
"I am afraid that only one figure could not be so strong as to be able to maintain this process in the party. If the internal cleansing remains only at this level, the outlook for the PP is not so positive," she replied to a question about whether only Kiril Petkov can atone for the responsibility for what happened.
"What we heard in the form of statements, both after yesterday's briefing and throughout the week - we are not left with the impression that there is sufficient clarity about the problem that exists among their ranks. This meeting yesterday was supposed to be something of an attempt to repair the initial damage from the scandal that "We continue the change" suffered, but the messages, the lack of more categorical requests, decisions and at least a direction in which things will go from now on, do not give grounds to believe that there is an in-depth understanding of the problem. "There is clearly a problem," the sociologist commented and reminded that the situation has gone beyond the borders of Sofia.
"There are clearly processes that were invisible until now, but have obviously maintained tension, including within the PP structures themselves in places", she expressed her opinion. In her opinion, serious measures are needed.
If the problems in the PP are not overcome, and so far we have not seen reliable signals of this, the separation between the two formations in the coalition will inevitably occur at some point, Genoveva Petrova predicted in an interview for the program "Predi visci". And she expressed her opinion:
"The moment for rethinking, for new talks, if you will, and restructuring this space of the democratic community is appropriate, given the fact that talks have also begun for the upcoming presidential elections. This could be a good opportunity for them to reconsider their cooperation within the parties in this community".
According to her, the community of these voters has been shrinking over the years. There are many people in the country who share these positions, but due to the series of political tensions in the parties in this sector, they do not systematically vote for them, Petrova specified. According to her, if they find a way to start anew, this could open up potential for them. The other pro-European alternatives are also not entirely unquestionable for a large part of these voters, she recalled.
The support of the MRF-NN for the government has been a fact for several months, the sociologist also pointed out. According to her, yesterday's message from the GERB event was mainly addressed to their own voters and activists in the localities. This was a way to convince them that there was no other chance and that the partnership with the MRF-NN was inevitable and without it, at least the first major goal – entry into the eurozone cannot be completed, she explained.
For Genoveva Petrova, the hypothesis of the government falling before the New Year is unlikely.