Borisov: Bulgaria Got No President Any More

Bulgarian PM Borisov waves at photo reporters in Brussels after the meeting of the European Council on Friday. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Georgi Parvanov should not be called Bulgaria's President any more because of his confirmed plans to start a political movement, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has declared.

After year-long rumors, and media reports over the week, on Friday, President Parvanov confirmed his intention to summon a new wide political movement on November 11, 2010.

According to Borisov, however, such a project is incompatible with Parvanov's duties as President of the Republic of Bulgaria.

"Please don't call him President any more when we talk about Parvanov. The only thing I am sorry for is that Bulgaria is left without a state institution for an entire year to come," Borisov commented in Brussels after the end of the European Council meeting that he attended, as cited by BTA.

This was the PM's response to journalists' questions about whether the new political project of the President should be regarded as a new leftist or civic alternative to the center-right government of Borisov's party GERB.

"A person who has a political project, cannot be a President. On top of that, I have no idea what he wants to revive, I heard the name of the new formation contains the word "revival" in it. Revival of what exactly? I am leaving all the explanations to him and others because I have said many times that I don't meddle in the work of other parties or movements. The only thing I am sorry for is that when we have such a project and a person representing it, in this case Mr. Parvanov, the presidential institution can be neither a corrective, nor a partner, it actually has no place," Borisov stated.

According to various media reports, the new formation to be headed by Parvanov will be called "Alternative for Bulgarian Revival," the Bulgarian acronym being ABV (the first three letters of the Bulgarian alphabet), and he will be inviting prominent leftist individuals but also some rightists to join in.

Georgi Parvanov's second and constitutionally last term in office expires early 2012 (the Bulgarian Presidential and local elections are to take place in the fall of 2011), and he has not hidden his ambitions to continue his role in Bulgarian politics, albeit in a new political formation that he might found.

The nature of this project is much speculated about in Bulgaria, but is still not anywhere near clear, although it is certain that it will be left-leaning and that the President's desire is that it is based on a broad civic movement that can have adequate grassroots backing.

Before starting his first term in office, Parvanov was chair of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (1996-2001), and another issue of contention is the nature of the relations between his future political organization and the party he led in the past.

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