If the vote fails, the cabinet may have a few more months to live, but it will be a drag on the belly, the journalist said.
Leaving the cabinet, “There are such people” caused many aftershocks in the coalition, which are becoming more tangible and unstoppable. This was followed by an unprecedented trade with MPs to support the majority. There are already six deputies who seceded from Slavi Trifonov’s party and will help the three-party coalition in the face of “We continue the Change”, BSP and “Democratic Bulgaria” to survive. The course of the opposition is not late. The former rulers of GERB-UDF demanded a vote of no confidence in the government of Kiril Petkov with a motive – the breakthroughs in his financial and economic policy. Against the background of all these processes, the Prime Minister’s secret agreements to lift the veto against the PCM for the start of negotiations for EU membership shone through. Will the upcoming no-confidence vote succeed next week or will Petkov’s cabinet be saved, are possible early elections for the country healthy, or is the better option in this situation a new cabinet within this parliament?
These are the topics and questions that specifically for Tribune.bg commented the journalist Valeria Veleva.
Mrs. Veleva, we see that the state is literally shaking. How would you comment on the swirling political crisis after the ITN left the coalition. Are we witnessing extremely dirty relations, betrayal, taking off dirty shirts, buying and selling deputies, all this directly in front of the public?
The events that took place in the parliament in recent days, and the processes that have been developing on the political scene in our country in the last year, speak of a total devaluation of parliamentarism. Once again, the life of society is a function of the coterie struggles of a failed political elite – the old players are exhausted, and the young – inexperienced, but arrogant and … thieving. For years, the Bulgarian political elite has been distinguished by one characteristic feature – everyone hates each other, does not tolerate them personally, no one trusts anyone, everyone surrenders to each other. Well, this has reached its apogee! And if so far the reason for the political “atrocity” was the ideological opposition, as we saw at the beginning of the transition, today the explosion of parliamentarism is due to money, corruption and “mafia” management, according to the participants. This is the first time this has happened on such a scale. For the first time, we have an official purchase and sale of deputies, not by anyone, but by the Bulgarian Prime Minister in order to preserve the majority. Kiril Petkov is frantically striving to continue governing the country with “hired deputies” through lawmakers with a bought conscience. This is disgusting! The Prime Minister is not aware of the damage he is doing to democracy with this behavior. Because once done, it will be repeated every time someone clings to power. We are flying to a moral bottom without a brake!
GERB-UDF submitted a vote of no confidence in the government of Kiril Petkov and now have the support of MRF, Vazrazhdane and former coalition partners from Slavi Trifonov’s party. So far, the accounts show that, for the first time in our democratic history, this vote may be successful. What is your forecast? Is there an option for any party or part of the deputies in a given formation to dissipate?
I do not know what will happen until Wednesday, when there will be a vote of no confidence in the government. We are witnessing such public pressure on MPs that we do not remember in the last 30 years. Not that this immoral phenomenon is unknown – we remember in the past how much some “golden fingers”, upper and lower thumbs cost; we remember the conspiracies behind the “ficus” in parliament; looking in the toilets; we remember how fat businessmen bought “MPs per kilo” and whole parliamentary groups. However, we also remember that when “Change” rose on the horizon, she announced that she would be pure and innocent, making the new policy of Bulgaria with the “A” team of the state. Now what happened? Petkov wants to rule with a minority government through mercenary deputies. He just doesn’t realize what the prospect is. The answer to the question of who will succumb to this pressure, we will see on Wednesday. Otherwise, I do not believe that any party of those who signed the no-confidence vote will withdraw. Unfortunately, things have escalated enormously, all borders have been crossed and the battle will be over who.
Resigned Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska acknowledged that there had indeed been agreements by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov to lift the veto against the PCM to start EU membership talks. The issue of commemorative notes has been raised many times, proving these actions of the Prime Minister, which unfortunately are to the detriment of the Bulgarian national interest. Yesterday it became clear that Kiril Petkov will send to the National Assembly the French proposal to lift the veto, for which he himself boasted to his closest associates. What is your comment on the topic?
Kiril Petkov has made commitments to his foreign policy mentors to lift the veto over RS Macedonia. This is the price he has to pay for the “service” that a runway to power was opened for him. “I have decided, I have made a commitment, I am not interested in Bulgaria, I have no support inside the country, I have support abroad, behind me are Macron and Schultz, and the EU,” the prime minister told one of his coalition partners. And all his actions absolutely purposefully lead to this – Bulgaria to make compromises, which will be presented as an “unprecedented success” for us, against which we will agree to lift the veto.
It is persistently suggested that the inclusion of the Bulgarians in the Constitution of the RSM is the most important act of “Bulgarian victory”, which would be guaranteed by Macron, Schultz and the entire EU. This, sorry, is nonsense! Firstly, there is no way for any EU member to be a guarantor in a bilateral agreement. And secondly, tell me how Macron will eradicate, for example, the language of hatred in the RSM towards Bulgaria, how will it change the whole philosophy of Macedonianism, on which today’s RSM is built? Will Macron rewrite history textbooks at RSM, filled with offensive qualifications towards Bulgarians? And I ask – why Macron and the EU do not insist that Skopje implement the Agreement with Bulgaria from 2017? If this happens – the path of our Macedonian brothers to the EU will be opened with fanfare! Nobody is pressuring Skopje for this, but they are pressuring Bulgaria to erase its past and close its eyes to the de-Bulgarianization near Vardar! An embarrassing fact is the decision of Kiril Petkov to isolate from this process both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the CIS, which have an absolutely united position on the conditions for starting the PCM negotiations with the EU.
A day after Wednesday’s vote of no confidence in the government, the prime minister is leaving for Brussels, where he must defend national veto interests. However, no one knows in advance exactly what position he will defend before our European partners. Unfortunately, the prime minister can unilaterally lift the Bulgarian veto of the European Council. If that happens, his plane will probably not be able to land in Sofia …
In your opinion, is there salvation for the government, and if not – are the rulers already aware of it?
This government is doomed. With a vote and without a vote – his horizon is short. If the vote succeeds, we will go to the polls in late September or early October. If the vote fails, there may be several months more life, but it will be a drag on the stomach. I understand that Petkov is highly motivated not to lose power, but political logic suggests otherwise. He made a lot of personal, personal mistakes, for which the entire cabinet pays. Petkov blew up his own government with outright lies, which together with Vassilev constantly pour on various occasions, with the total lack of institutional, political training and coalition culture, with blown up bridges to all those in the PP who do not like, with public measurement of muscles and threats even with a physical fight with opponents, which equated today’s Bulgarian politics to a wrestling match. In their election promises, Petkov and Vassilev denied everything the PP is doing at the moment. After six months in power of a political entity that is not even a party yet, we see severe conflicts, interinstitutional battles and the unpleasant feeling that the fight against corruption is being waged in only one line – in place of the former corruption model. to build a new one, hidden behind hollow phrases, packed with a familiar dose of arrogance, power self-sufficiency and political amateurism.
Do you think that the option of early elections is the best way out in this situation or rather a new cabinet within this parliament?
Early elections are a bad option, but in this situation they seem to be the only ones. Unfortunately, political “savagery” in parliament does not presuppose an environment in which to form a new government. Talking about a new cabinet, regardless of its formula, means abandoning the leadership ego and party interests, the presence of political wisdom and state thinking. So far, such enlightenment is not noticed in the Bulgarian parliament. On the contrary! We are witnessing a kind of entanglement of morals in the last three members of the National Assembly. It is as if packs are sitting on parliamentary banks, not MPs. And when they can’t get the loot they think belongs to them, the packs start fighting each other. We are seeing this in disgust now. It stops normal debate and normal relations between political players in order to find a way out of the crisis so that it does not reach the final version.
What would the political picture look like in the event of new elections?
New elections will not change the configuration of power. The vote will reproduce the fragmented parliament again, but with an important feature – ITN may remain below the line, the PP will collapse around the barrier, and Vazrazhdane and Stefan Yanev’s new party will eventually shift the current positions of the others. At the moment, only the MRF and Vazrazhdane want open elections from the parties in parliament. Although sociologists place GERB in first place, Borissov’s party has failed to significantly increase its support, and the lead over “Continuing Change” comes from a drastic drop in power.
Early elections have another major drawback – not so much because of the distribution of seats in parliament, but because of the lack of another center of political gravity around which to gather a majority. The future for Bulgaria remains unclear. I suspect that the results of the vote could confront the parties with such an unexpected development that they will force the leaders of the systemic parties to turn their backs on their contradictions and join forces in the face of the gaping abyss. That’s why I advise politicians – do not blow up all the bridges, leave a “rescue” path to each player with whom fate can bring you together. There is one rule in politics – never say “never”! Very difficult days are coming!
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