/ world today news/ After years of one-man rule, the negotiations are a chance to return to the normal political process.
The BSP is negotiating without a clear mandate, it risks disfiguring itself, the red lines should have been social.
“I would like to see a government before Christmas, and I think this is the desire of most Bulgarians after so many months of repeated elections without a final result,” said PES leader and Bulgarian Prime Minister (2005-2009) Sergey Stanishev during his participation on bTV’s “120 Minutes” show today.
Commenting on the negotiations to form a ruling majority, Stanishev said: “The normal attitude towards coalitions is being restored in our society. Quota distribution is common in any democracy where there is a coalition. It is important to have a balance and not get a policy in the hands of only one political force. I see that the winning party is trying to create a positive atmosphere, they say that everyone is on the winning side of the change and thus conduct a kind of psychotherapy with the losers. Because the reality is that both ITN, DB and BSP lost votes and a significant part of this loss went to the new first political force, and this will create problems not only during the negotiations, but also after them.
I see that the PP’s approach is for public, transparent negotiations, online, and that makes sense. After so many years of one-man rule, the abandonment of institutions, people want to see the restoration of politics, of political disputes, of differences, of the process of negotiation and of reaching a compromise. This is a positive thing, but it also brings its risks. Now we see an exposition of the pre-election programs of the parties. And the actual negotiations, the debate between different points of view and the reaching of compromises, seem to be coming. I expect the next rounds to be transparent so that it is clear who is behind what. I think that the largest party chose this model so that they would not be blackmailed by the smaller ones “in the dark”, behind closed doors. Because otherwise, one always gets the impression of hand-wringing, of behind-the-scenes deals. These days, for example, the leaders of the PP were photographed in front of “Positano” 20 late at night – this is not well received by the other parties and by public opinion, because it gives the impression that one thing is going in front of the public, and the real negotiations are taking place elsewhere. at night. This should be avoided,” Stanishev said.
The PES president also pointed out that it is important what goals the participation in a government pursues and shared his experience as prime minister: “In 2005, I had three very clear personal priorities. First, that Bulgaria enters the EU and that our membership is not postponed. Second, for the BSP to serve a full mandate, for the first time in the history of the transition. And third, for this mandate to be successful economically and socially. 340,000 jobs were created, income almost doubled, 24 billion foreign direct investments entered the country’s economy. You have to know what you are aiming for, then the compromises become better thought out. And the last, which is also not unimportant – the prime minister must treat all ministers and deputy ministers as part of his team.
“In 2005, the president did not participate in these negotiations, but rather created a positive environment for them. The actual negotiations were between working groups and achieved both a very clear program on the main policy directions in finance, in the social sphere, European integration and many other areas, as well as a coalition agreement on the way the coalition should function,” added the leader of socialists in Europe.
Commenting on the state of the left, Stanishev said:
“In my opinion, the main task of the BSP in these negotiations is to save Cornelia Ninova and her team, bringing the BSP into the government. And at the congress, which is planned for January, to say “What do you want, I put you in power, didn’t I?”. And thus to close the leadership issue. There is no fragmentation of the BSP, there is a departure from the BSP by a very large number of voters – nearly 600,000 compared to 2017. We already have losses in the core of those who firmly voted for the BSP. The big question for the party is not what it brings into these negotiations and the government – which I believe will be formed in the end, but what it comes out with. Because we have seen in Europe parties like the Czech Social Democrats, for example, who entered the government from a weak position, served a full term and did not cross the barrier in the next elections. That’s the big risk.”
When asked about the legitimacy of the negotiations, Stanishev said: “I am worried because I do not see a clear political and managerial mandate given to the leadership. There are only a few parameters, red lines – “no” to “genderism” and the Istanbul Convention, “no” to a quick resolution of the dispute with the RSM – whatever that means, and “no” to the privatization of the BBR. The latter, in fact, is consensual because none of the winning parties has declared such an intention. But the first two show that the leadership of the BSP will not change the political line at all and intends to compete again with the nationalists on their turf – traditionalism, patriotism and all. I ask where are the social red lines? Here, I hear from Mr. Vasilev, who said that people who are able to work should not receive social benefits. How so?! The BSP must strongly object to this. If someone who has been paying social security, suddenly because the company went bankrupt in this situation – whether because of energy prices or the Covid crisis, they find themselves without a job, shouldn’t they be helped? This is not up for debate. The question is that the BSP should state a clear social alternative at these negotiations. I see that on a number of issues, the social issue is seized by other speakers, and it should be BSP’s policy.”
In connection with the tragedy on the Struma highway, the leader of the PES pointed out: “Over the last 10 years, in many ways, we have deinstitutionalized ourselves as a country, we have become a country under the manual control of Prime Minister Borissov. This makes all institutions not very efficient. Each of them must do their job and bear their responsibility, otherwise everything accumulates in the hands of one person, both as an opportunity and as a responsibility.”
“Another tragedy occurred this week – perhaps much less massive, but no less symbolic. On the UN Day for the Protection of Women from Violence, another Bulgarian woman was killed, the 16th this year. I want to call on the Bulgarian politicians to stop hiding behind the Istanbul Convention like some kind of scarecrow. It cannot be ratified because there is a decision of the Constitutional Court. In the new parliament, the parties from the new majority must do their job and protect Bulgarian women by adopting the changes in the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence. They were prepared with the participation of the Bulgarian non-governmental sector, institutions, judges and prosecutors. So that something more can finally be done about violence against women. It is part of modern civilization. We cannot accept this reality as normal,” concluded Stanishev.
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