GERB presented coalition agreement proposal to power sharing partners from WCC-DB

GERB's national conference on March 5 gave a mandate to the party's negotiating team to hold talks with “We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria” (WCC-DB) for a coalition agreement for a full term in office.

The draft of a coalition agreement for governance was presented at the party's conference. The negotiating team includes Mariya Gabriel, Temenuzhka Petkova, Raya Nazaryan and Denitsa Sacheva.

"I suggest that you give me this vote of confidence - that we send this negotiating team with this document and try to make a comprehensive governance. We cannot go on with these ‘in 9 months, in 6 months... let's see, and let's try’. We have tried for 9 months. Either we do something proper, as women like to say - a marriage, or it is not going to work," Borissov said.

GERB to propose coalition agreement to We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria

Borissov criticised his power sharing partners for changing people in key positions without consulting GERB. According to him, this shows that WCC-DB are preparing for elections, and the WCC has usurped almost 100% of the key posts in the state while talking beautiful words about regulators and transparency.

The leader of GERB, however, pointed out that there is a big division in society in Bulgaria, and an early election will increase it even more - the Euro-Atlantic parties separately will be much weaker than together.

"On March 3 (National Liberation Day), the state and the people showed a monstrously big division. It comes from Shipka. We, as a party, saved March 3 as a national holiday, but our President was booed there. No one from WCC-DB attended the ceremony. That is to say, the pro-Russian parties and the nationalist parties appeared there, and the division along this axis became apparent. We from GERB; WCC-DB and MRF remained on the other side of the axis.

If we are going into elections, we need to be aware that this division will triple as a division because even we, as a Euro-Atlantic coalition, will be broken among ourselves, and individually we will be much weaker in the battle for the geopolitical orientation for Bulgaria," he pointed out.

Deputy Prime Minister, Mariya Gabriel, said that for the last 9 months GERB has no sense of equality in the government and in decision-making, as well as in taking responsibility for what has been done and not done. That is why GERB is proposing a written mechanism for decision-making in government.

"There is no way we can agree that everything good should be attributed to WCC-DB and everything not done or not good should be attributed to GERB. The facts say otherwise.

Bulgaria needs a stable governance, but it is only possible with GERB-UDF. Bulgaria needs a legislative programme, but it is possible with the expertise of GERB-UDF in the National Assembly. There is a need for a governance programme that puts the priorities of the people and regions of Bulgaria on an equal footing with the issues of judicial reform, anti-corruption reform and security service reform. We also want something more - real implementation of the principles of accountability, transparency and publicity. That is why we want a clear decision-making mechanism," she said.

The meeting was opened by the party's deputy chairman, Tomislav Donchev, who described the cabinet rotation in its current form as rather pointless. In his words, GERB's proposal is the last chance for the current government to continue.

"The biggest problem is that they have gone to the point of dividing the public into right and wrong. If you support one party you are right, if you support another - you are wrong. And while I have enough experience not to be offended by that, I won't let them offend you into improper citizens and improper politicians.

I'm afraid that at the moment, the rotation – in its current form - is pointless, or rather meaningless. Things cannot go on like this. We cannot allow the Council of Ministers to be something between an internship programme and a travel agency. We cannot allow Mariya Gabriel to be held hostage to explain herself to this or that minister," Donchev said.

He pointed out that early elections are an option to get out of this situation, but this is not good for the country.

"There is an option to bring order in the whole country - who gets power and who uses it and there is a need for a clear mechanism to bring order. There is a need for a chance, a last chance for things to become normal, to have order and rules and guarantees that the government will work and there will be results," Donchev said.

Images by BTA, BGNES