Socialists and Democratic Bulgaria talk about formation of new government

The BSP for Bulgaria parliamentary group and Democratic Bulgaria Thursday held talks about the formation of a new government within the life of the current National Assembly. The meeting was part of the first round of talks which started after on Monday BSP for Bulgaria received the third cabinet-forming mandate from President Rumen Radev; the next round will begin next week.

At the start of the meeting, BSP leader and outgoing Economy and Industry Minister Korneliya Ninova said that they will first talk about policies and the governance programme co-authored by Democratic Bulgaria, and only if they reach an agreement will they talk about the structure and members of the Council of Ministers.

Democratic Bulgaria co-leader Hristo Ivanov expressed satisfaction with BSP for Bulgaria approaching the third mandate as a collective one and using the existing governance programme as a basis for the talks. "We will take a more active part in the process once Continue the Change announces its prime minister designate," he said.

Democratic Bulgaria co-leader Atanas Atanassov said that the challenges and crises Bulgaria is facing are much stronger than the differences between his parliamentary group and the BSP, which is why Democratic Bulgaria is sitting at the negotiation table. The risk of Bulgaria remaining without a parliament this winter is truly high, and this risk creates the opportunity for political destabilization servicing the restoration plan of GERB leader and former prime minister Boyko Borissov. Democratic Bulgaria will not let that happen, Atanassov said.