Bulgarian Opposition Hopes to Unite on No-confidence Vote

Socialist leader and former Prime Minister, Sergey Stanishev, says talks with the other major opposition party, the ethnic Turkish DPS on the cabinet's no-confidence vote would continue this week as previously agreed. Photo by BGNES

The two major opposition formations in Bulgaria the Socialist Party (BSP) and the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) have common ground in their criticism towards the economic policy of the cabinet.

The statement was made Monday by the BSP leader and former Prime Minister, Sergey Stanishev, who said the joint views stem from the fact Bulgaria is the only EU country where the economic crisis deepens while the others are recovering.

"In Germany there are forecasts of a 3% growth, while people here lose jobs and hope," he said, adding real problems in education, health care, and culture are triggered by the way the cabinet its functioning, the one-person rule, the chaos, the lack of strategy, especially in the economy.

Stanishev reminded of the never ending changes in the government's intentions, pointing as example how, a while ago, arrests were deemed the best anti-crisis measure and now, one year in their term, those ruling the country finally realized infrastructure and public expenditures are real, effective measures.

"But no one can bring back the time that was lost," the former PM stated.

According to Stanishev, in 2009 the entire EU, including his cabinet, were investing in infrastructure to create jobs, income, profits and revenues, while the cabinet of the center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party froze payments to businesses in order to fill the budget gap, which will still end up being 5%.

The Socialist leader further informed talks with DPS on the no-confidence vote would continue at the end of the week with each party taking time to make additional analysis of the motives.

As reported earlier, DPS is focusing more on the failures in the culture, education and science reforms while BSP say the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) government is failing in the health reform, the anti-crisis measures and in improving wages and quality of life in the country.

"To choose the grounds for the vote is not that simple. They must correspond to the public attitude. Not that we lack motives; to the contrary – there are too many," according to Stanishev.