The leader of the largest party in the Bulgarian parliament, Boyko Borissov, has warned his political partners, with whom he governs the country in an informal coalition, that the budget and corruption are more important than the country's Euro-Atlantic orientation and could force his party GERB out of power.
According to a BGNES correspondent in the area, Borissov spoke at a national GERB conference in Veliko Tarnovo. Members of the party's executive committee, newly elected mayors and municipal councillors, members of parliament, and regional coordinators all gather for this meeting.
The parliamentary group and the Executive Committee of the formation have been discussing the outcomes of the recent local elections and the implementation of the management and legislative programme on which GERB-SDU and PP-DB stand for several days now, starting on Wednesday.
Borissov, along with his fellow party members, has been extremely critical of Finance Minister Asen Vassilev's proposed budget, and the party has issued an ultimatum to the "We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB), threatening to resign from the government if GERB's demands are not included in the plan-account of the state budget for the coming year. This would force the seventh early election for a legislature in as many years.
If the GERB programmes are not included in this budget, then I will do what the parliamentary group has told me. We will no longer bend to your demands until they are presented to us in writing and guaranteed. We also don't have any deputy ministers, so we can avoid responsibility for any wrongdoing committed by those who do. Nothing can be discussed unless Hemus has a record of it. Nothing can be discussed if Ruse-Tarnovo is not documented. If they so want, we shall place them according to legislative decree, relieving them of all anxiety. We have to accomplish that."
According to Borissov, the government's single positive aspect is its commitment to the country's Euro-Atlantic orientation.
To begin, you should stop calling us a "fit" because that phrase has become cynical and has lost all of its positive connotations. My realisation came to me yesterday during the drill at Novo Selo: if we don't absolutely say "we are leaving" today, this "Euro-Atlanticism", that has already become a hard word to take, will be what stands. conflict in Ukraine, conflict in Israel; the globe is a complex place right now.
Borissov also addressed the subject of the pension increase planned for next year in the country's budget, saying, "We are a conservative center-right party that has been saying out loud before elections - we will not raise pensions because the budget deficit must be zero or in surplus." People who advocate for responsible fiscal management have a "face" and a "ideology" that look like this. /BGNES
