The resignation of the government was only a matter of time. This was commented by the chair of 'We Continue the Change', Asen Vassilev, during the BNT programme 'Panorama' on December 12.
According to him, the consequences of the mass protests and the government’s resignation were a logical response to public discontent.
“It was logical, given that Borisov first said he was withdrawing the budget, then the next day said he was not withdrawing it, and after that, on 1 December, a huge protest took place in Sofia and in 20 cities across the country. From that point on, it was clear that the protest demanding the government’s resignation would lead to the government’s resignation. It was only a matter of time. After the protest on 10 December, the government quite sensibly resigned, because otherwise there would have been much greater escalation,” Asen Vassilev commented.
Vassilev also addressed accusations that the government’s resignation would unleash chaos.
“In reality, neither I nor my colleagues from WCC–DB are under any illusion that all the people in the square are there because of us. These people are at the protest in the square because they do not want the model of governance of Borisov and Peevski to continue. We have watched this model of governance for a long time. It is a model in which institutions wait for instructions over the phone. It is a model in which an ordinary MP, such as Mr Borisov, gives orders to the Prime Minister on what to do, and the Prime Minister obeys him, which is even worse,” said the chair of 'We Continue the Change'.
According to him, this is a model of governance in which a judiciary can be seen carrying out orders.
“It is a model in which, if a businessman expresses criticism of those in power, ten inspection bodies descend on him and literally try to take his business away. It is a model of governance in which, if people vote ‘the wrong way’, they are left without firewood for heating,” said Asen Vassilev.
Regarding the fact that there will be no new budget, Vassilev explained that the reasons date back to October, when the government failed to listen to employers and then attempted to push a budget through via a fast-track procedure.
"Then they withdrew it, then they didn't withdraw it. Then it brought in a new budget that largely just delayed the unpopular measures, but its philosophy was the same - it was going to raise taxes. And it will dig deeper into the pockets of Bulgarian citizens to feed some power structures and fill their coffers," he said.
According to him, what lies ahead now is that for the first three months the country will operate under a budget extension law. He stressed that there is no problem with the budget being in leva.
“There is absolutely no problem with the budget being in leva. The Euro Adoption Act states clearly that everything denominated in leva, regardless of which law it is in, is converted at the official exchange rate of the Bulgarian National Bank. Bulgaria is entering the eurozone and there will be no problems with that.”
On the issue of price controls and competition, Vassilev stated that in reality it is not the government that controls profiteering, but the Commission for Protection of Competition and the Commission for Consumer Protection.
According to him, the next task is to hold fair elections:
“Yes, the Electoral Code can be amended and we want machine voting to be reinstated. Yes, changes can be made. Perhaps there will be a minister of the interior who will actually make elections fairer, rather than allowing vote-buying to reach the levels we saw – all the way to the Constitutional Court. When the ballot bags were opened, an entirely new party entered Parliament. But the way to safeguard elections is something we demonstrated in Pazardzhik – to have observers in every polling station, to have people with phones who can film the abuses and broadcast them live on the internet,” Vassilev said.
Vassilev also commented on the role of President Rumen Radev:
“We see that the President is performing the role assigned to him by the Constitution – to hold consultations, to go through the mandates, and then to appoint a caretaker government. There is no clarity about a potential party, if there is such a thing, but we have firmly stated that Bulgaria should move towards Europe, not towards the East,” he commented.
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