Arrests of Mayors and Accusations of Losing Control over Financial Flows Spark Bitter Clash Between PM and Opposition Leaders

The arrests of mayors and allegations of a loss of control over financial flows have sparked a serious clash between Prime Minister Rumen Radev and opposition leaders Boyko Borisov and Delyan Peevski. The heated exchanges come as the election campaign approaches its final days.

Before thecabinet meeting, the prime minister said his government would not repeat the mistakes of previous administrations, would respect the separation of powers and the law, and would allow law enforcement agencies to reach the top of the oligarchic pyramid.

Rumen Radev, Prime Minister: “Peevski and Borissov have once again reverted to their familiar arrogant style of speech and conduct. They may be nervous because they can no longer force me into political arrangements with power-hungry partners prepared for grotesque political incest. They cannot dictate terms to the government and are losing control over financial flows.”

The Prime Minister recalled that, until now, all efforts by the State Agency for National Security (SANS) and the Ministry of the Interior to uncover significant wrongdoing had come to naught at the Prosecutor’s Office.

Rumen Radev, Prime Minister: “But that changed yesterday. Sungurlare may hardly be the centre of corruption, but the process is beginning with yesterday’s arrest of the mayor of Sungurlare, because, at long last, we have found honourable and courageous Bulgarian prosecutors at district level who have taken the side of justice. We will operate entirely within the bounds of the law, but we will not stop until law enforcement agencies reach the top of the oligarchic pyramid.”

The response from Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) leader Delyan Peevski came from the parliamentary rostrum, where he claimed that the senior professional leadership of the Ministry of the Interior and the State Agency for National Security (SANS) was holding regular meetings with Radev.

Delyan Peevski, MRF chairman: “All these operations, including what is happening in Belitsa now and what happened in Sungurlare, originate from one place – Rumen Radev’s office, let me be clear. I watched that malice, that helplessness, that fear of yesterday’s protest and of the polling agencies’ surveys. The head of the oligarchy is Rumen Radev and Nikolay Koprinkov.”

GERB leader Boyko Borissov responded to Radev from the party headquarters.

Boyko Borissov, GERB chairman: “We are surprised by all these remarks of his, because only a few days ago we spoke on the phone, and then we attended the Consultative Council for National Security (CCNS). I had not noticed any such attitude. But apparently, a protest – which was not organised by us at all, and which also protested against us – together with the government’s falling approval ratings, which make us all nervous when that happens, has prompted the search for a convenient talking point: Borissov and Peevski.”

photos: BTA

The former Prime Minister criticised the incumbent for using the Council of Ministers as a party headquarters. Radev said he was commenting on political leaders in his capacity as Prime Minister for the first time, but that the situation required him to break with this principle.