Another episode of the "Cabinet Maria Gabriel" saga unfolded on Thursday.
Although the mandate is national and not party, the two leading coalitions have been passing the "hot potato" all day and the responsibility of who should be the first to invite the "adversary team" in the non-coalition to negotiations on the composition of the Council of Ministers, already proposed by Gabriel. The exchange of lines about who should apologize and to whom led to the fact that a vote of the draft cabinet in the National Assembly has not been scheduled for several days, the parliamentary reporter of BGNES summarizes.
Already in the morning, from the parliamentary sidelines, Boyko Borisov stated that he is giving the We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (WCC-DB) co-chairmen time to think, to apologize publicly, and declared his categorical support for Gabriel. From the television studios, Denitsa Sacheva, Raya Nazaryan and Vladislav Goranov expressed the same position at the same time.
In the afternoon hours of today, a public statement did not come from WCC-DB, the union sent in writing their position, in which they put the ball in GERB's court:
"Dear colleagues,
Fulfilling a mandate to form a cabinet requires a vote of confidence in the figure of the prime minister. This is the fundamental premise required by the Constitution. In the last 9 months, we had started to build basic trust on several basic principles: 1. Mandates are realized as national, which means - general; 2. All decisions regarding the composition of the Council of Ministers are taken jointly by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister; 3. All compromises are justified only to the extent that they guarantee reforms and are in the interest of the whole society.
We at WCC-DB are aware of the need for Bulgaria to have a regular government to implement the reforms outlined in the draft agreement. We remain responsible for the destiny of the country and ready to share the responsibility of general management. This can only be done by restoring the formula of trust and guaranteeing the real implementation of the reforms. This can only be done with a shared team that respects the commitments made, with a strong character, resistance to pressure and leadership qualities, so that it can deal with the enormous challenges facing Bulgaria today.
We saw Nikolay Denkov and Maria Gabriel as guarantors for the realization of this formula and invested enormous efforts in building trust in their integrity and sustainability. On March 19, 2024, Maria Gabriel returned an accomplished mandate without a final signed agreement on general governance and without a final agreed composition of the ministerial council. With this action, the formula of trust was drastically broken and puts the country in front of a new political crisis.
Dear colleagues from GERB-UDF, it is your responsibility to say how we can proceed. You acted unilaterally in complete contradiction to all agreements and contrary to the vote of confidence for the realization of a national common mandate. Take responsibility for your actions and propose a concrete plan adequate to the crisis you created. You are on the move," says the WCC-DB.
Minutes later came the reply of GERB, again in writing:
GERB firmly stands behind Maria Gabriel and we do not back down from her nomination for Prime Minister, stated Boyko Borisov's party.
"Conversations are possible only after an immediate public political apology and after the withdrawal of Asen Vasilev from the negotiations and from his participation in a possible future cabinet.
Dear WCC-DB colleagues, the responsibility to say how we can proceed is mutual. You acted emotionally and not rationally, in complete contradiction to all agreements and contrary to the vote of confidence for the realization of a national common mandate. Take responsibility for Asen Vassilev's actions, distance yourself from him and let's work together on a plan adequate to the crisis you are deliberately creating at the moment," said Borisov's party. /BGNES
