Demands for reshuffle - is the tension between the coalition partners growing?

The leader of GERB, Boyko Borissov, rejected the proposal to replace Kostadin Angelov as chairman of the Council for Joint Governance. The resignation of Angelov was requested a few days ago by the Democracy, Rights and Freedoms - Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DRF-MRF), arguing that the council was not functioning properly. Boyko Borissov believes that DRF made a tactical mistake by publicly requesting Angelov's resignation, stressing that such issues should be resolved within the Council.

"I do not agree to his replacement. Yesterday, I spoke with "There is Such a People" and the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), and the government and the majority are like a team, because we have clearly said that we do not want the support of 'MRF- New Beginning' on regulators or the budget. We have said it clearly. There should either be such a majority, together with the colleagues from Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, to accept these things, or they will simply not be accepted. GERB will not always be a crutch to please everyone and, like some milking cow, everyone will ask something from GERB. My patience has long run out," commented Borissov.

DRF-MRF softened their tone, stating that they would fight for the dismantling of the "Peevski" model and reminded once again:

"For the second and third echelons, discussions should be held, based not on the quota principle, but all four parties should have their representatives," said Dzhevded Chakarov, Chairman of the DRF-MRF parliamentary group.

When asked whether they were backing down from their demand for Angelov’s resignation, Chakarov responded:

"For us, it is very important for the Council for Joint Governance to start functioning properly and to improve the policies. The country needs a regular government. We will work to make our voices heard and will insist that we be heard. If not, there are indications, as mentioned earlier, there needs to be correctness, and we are being correct."

Regarding the criticism of Rosen Karadimov's candidacy for the Chairman of the Commission for Protection of Competition, Borissov urged BSP, which proposed him for the position, to justify their choice.

"I will not allow BSP to just present their candidacy for Rosen Karadimov without an explanation. Otherwise, he simply won’t be elected," said Boyko Borissov.

Rosen Karadimov has already received support from business and trade unions. Kiril Dobrev made it clear.

"It seems that some political entities are suffering from amnesia. We have to comment once again on our candidate for the Commision for the Protection of Competition, Rosen Karadimov. This is a person who was proposed by the caretaker cabinet of Rumen Radev, then he was the head of BDB in the Denkov government. BSP is a predictable and correct partner, but we will not allow external interference. This whole situation feels like déjà vu, like the candidacy of Nataliya Kiselova (Speaker of Parliament). We will not allow external interference and support our candidacy."

In the plenary hall, a declaration by DRF-MRF against Deliyan Peevski led to sharp and offensive exchanges with "MRF - New Beginning". Speaker of Parliament Nataliya Kiselova imposed a "reprimand" penalty on Hamid Hamid from "MRF - New Beginning".