Bulgaria PM Slammed as Habitual Quitter, Shirker

Bulgaria's prime minister has grown the habit of leaving office before the term expires and this poses many questions, a right-wing opposition leader said.

"Boyko Borisov supporters should ask themselves why he always withdraws from the positions he occupies before the end of his term in office," right-wing Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) leader Ivan Kostov said on Thursday, commenting on the upcoming presidential elections.

"Borisov first resigned as Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry, then as mayor and now, if he runs for president, he will have to step down – before his term is over - as prime minister ", Kostov pointed out in an interview for bTV's morning broadcast.

In Kostov's opinion, Borisov is in a tough position because if he does not run for president, GERB will most likely fail to win the elections, while if he does, he will not be able to implement his party's policy.

The co-chairman of the Blue Coalition, which has recently turned into the ruling party harshest critics, was positive that GERB's rating was heading downwards.

"This means that GERB is not in a position to win the vote at the first round. The candidate of the ruling party might not make it to the run-offs, unless the name is Boyko Borisov," Kostov said.

"Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic and the leaders should compete in parliament, not in the presidential headquarters", Kostov said, responding to PM Borisov's call that the leaders of all political forces should try their hand at the presidential elections.

He reminded that the president does not rule the country- he represents it, seeks political consensus but does not fulfill pre-election promises.

Kostov stressed that a number of issues would become clear after the elections, including the implementation of President Parvanov's "Grand Slam" (i.e, Russian energy projects in Bulgaria), the existence of breaches in Bulgaria's national security and the personality of the keen defender of Russian interests, who keeps silent about the  threats on Russia's part.

Drawing attention to WikiLeaks' report, the right-wing leader reminded that Vladimir Putin had warned Borisov that Bulgarians would be left in the cold in the winter unless the energy projects get going.

Kostov criticized the government for failing to tame inflation and cope with the crisis.

The DSB leader slammed the idea for a BGN 136 supplement to pensions as a "patchwork" solution.

"The main reason for the  exodus of foreign investors from Bulgaria is that the markets have been distributed among monopoly structures. An estimated 75-80% of the fuel warehouses in the country are controlled by Lukoil. This makes it practically impossible to import fuel and sell it at competitive prices. The government and the monopolies in the modern state are at war with each other. This war must be opened to put an end to the soaring prices ", Kostov concluded.

A recent one-month freeze on retail fuel prices has fueled suspicions of very close ties between Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the head of Lukoil Bulgaria Valentin Zlatev.

Zlatev has been described by the opposition as "the country's back seat ruler" and "the oil oligarch, who pulls the strings of the government".

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