Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), 97-01-06

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From: Embassy of Bulgaria <bulgaria@access1.digex.net>

EMBASSY OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.

BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY

6 January, 1997

CONTENTS

[01] CONSULTATIONS ON NEW BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT

[02] NEW GOVERNMENT WITHIN TWO WEEKS

[03] LEFT COALITION TO NAME PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE ON JANUARY 8

[04] PARLIAMENT CHAIRMAN SENDOV MEETS ISRAELI BUSINESSMEN

[05] URGENTLY NEEDED: NEW LEFT CABINET

[06] PRESS REVIEW

[01] CONSULTATIONS ON NEW BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT

Last Monday President Zhelyu Zhelev had talks with representatives of the Left and on Saturday he received the MPs of the other parliamentary groups and the three independent MPs. The united opposition, including the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), the Popular Union and the ethnic Turks' Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) are unanimous that early parliamentary elections must be held now, two years before the end of the term of the incumbent National Assembly.

"The Left, whose government suffered a failure and provoked the gravest crisis in the country, has no moral right to form a new Cabinet," UDF floor leader Yordan Sokolov said after the meeting with President Zhelev. The UDF believes that the incumbent Socialists-dominated parliament has exhausted its potential and the only solution lies in early elections. "We shall call on to the people to go out in the streets and express their attitude to this Cabinet, to the government of the Socialist party. We shall reserve our possibilities for parliamentary actions, including the extreme one, a walkout," Sokolov said when asked what the opposition would do if the majority does not accept its demand for early parliamentary elections and votes in favour of forming a second Socialist government.

"We believe that the Socialist party, a second Cabinet of the Socialist party, no matter who the Prime Minister may be, will not be able to cope with the situation," Popular Union Co-Chair Stefan Savov said. Another Popular Union representative, Stefan Lichev, believes, that any new government under the incumbent Parliament "is suicidal both for that party and for Bulgaria".

"I am convinced that a new Cabinet of the Socialist party will be a Cabinet- kamikaze and whatever the new prime minister may be, he will be a victim," MRF leader Ahmed Dogan said. In his view, the Socialist party is short of ideas for ways of overcoming the crisis. "We are not justified at this stage to support any new Cabinet of the Socialist party, because it has no ideas, concept or a new programme," Dogan also said.

The three independent MPs said after the meeting with President Zhelev that they do not support any government of the Socialist party. They also declared themselves for early parliamentary elections but would pledge for amendments in the electoral law that would strengthen the majority principle in the elections for new parliament.

"It is still early to talk about support," representative of the Bulgarian Business Bloc (BBB) Yasho Minkov said after the meeting with the President in connection with BBB's possible support for a new government of the Left. The BBB would first like to see the Left's prime minister designate, the line-up of the new government, the personal and business qualities of its members. Minkov was categorical that the BBB will not take part in the executive power.

BBB's stand for non-participation in a new government of the Left was voiced by BBB leader George Ganchev at a later meeting with Socialist leader Georgi Purvanov. "The Bulgarian Business Bloc will not take part in the new Cabinet, because, assuming its obligations, the Socialist party must respond to the people's confidence or fix date for new elections," Ganchev said before the meeting with Georgi Purvanov. In his view, the Socialist party may gain the confidence of the Business Bloc "if it comes up with an acceptable and intelligent programme". After the talks Purvanov said that the Socialist party will continue to seek the support of the BBB in terms of ideas for settling a number of problems related to the structural reform, the reform in the banking system and other problems of national importance.

[02] NEW GOVERNMENT WITHIN TWO WEEKS

These developments were launched at the Socialist party's extraordinary congress in late December where Socialist leader and PM Zhan Videnov tendered his Cabinet's resignation and said he will not stand for any senior positions in the party, the government or the National Assembly. The Congress took a decision for forming a new government of the Left and a couple of days later the National Assembly voted the Cabinet's resignation. The Cabinet, however, is currently drafting the 1997 Budget bill as well as some other important economic laws. Among the other key decisions of the Congress was the declaration of the Socialist party to continue to exercise legislative and executive power until the term of the current parliament expires in two years' time.

"We have the strength and the ideas to start pursuing a new policy," said the Socialists' new leader Georgi Purvanov, who was elected about ten days ago at an extraordinary congress of the Socialist Party. He is convinced that the Socialist party will manage to form a strong government and pledged that this party will pursue a more open policy. "We already declared our intention that when we form the new Cabinet we shall enlarge the existing framework and enlist broader public and political support," Georgi Purvanov said on Friday.

"I hope that the Left will not manage to form a new Government in the nearest future and we shall be faced with the alternative to hold early elections, because even the large public in Bulgaria is rejecting not only Zhan Videnov, but also the entire Socialist party and its government," Gyulbie Osman of the ethnic Turks' Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) said. This stand is shared by the whole united opposition, which, in addition to the MRF includes the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) and the Popular Union.

The arguments reached their culmination point last Friday when the National Assembly gathered for an extraordinary meeting to debate the declaration of the opposition which it claims to contain measures for Bulgaria's salvation. The opposition suggests the appointment of a new governing board of the National Bank, one that would act as a currency board until the implementation of this mechanism, the formation of an all-party team that will hold the negotiations with the international financial institutions on the reform programmes, as well as holding early parliamentary elections.

During the debates a number of Socialist party representatives said that they are willing to hold a dialogue with the opposition on the important reform-related issues.

"We do not want the Socialist party to relinquish the power; if early elections are held this party still stands chances of attracting the voters with its programmes. However noone has won elections on a programme envisaging a currency board," UDF leader Ivan Kostov argued.

Already before the results of the parliamentary debate on the opposition's declaration were known, the opposition decided to stage a protest rally in its support. The rally made declarations against a new government of the Left and in favour of early parliamentary elections. Many opposition representatives believe the street protests against the government will become even stronger.

The National Assembly is expected to gather for an extraordinary meeting on January 10 to continue the debates and hold a vote on the opposition's declaration. Socialists floor leader Krassimir Premianov said on several occasions that the Left is ready to hold negotiations on all crucial for the country issues. Opposition representatives believe that the Socialists are making attempts to take the initiative for the achievement of a national consensus. They believe the Socialists might try to bind the vote on the declaration with the formation of a new cabinet on a broader coalition basis.

[03] LEFT COALITION TO NAME PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE ON JANUARY 8

The parliamentary group of the Democratic Left is drafting a declaration on the position of the BSP's Supreme Council and parliamentary group in compliance with the decisions of the party's 42nd extraordinary congress held in late 1996. According to Klara Marinova, the paper prepared by the Left is not intended as a counter- declaration to the one moved by the United Democratic Forces (UtdDF) suggesting measures for Bulgaria's salvation, which was not voted on Friday at the Parliament's extraordinary meeting. The opposition's declaration contains a number of statements and intentions which the Democratic Left also shares and which may be arranged and summed up into a single position of the Parliament, Mrs Marinova also said.

The Executive Bureau of the Supreme Council has included in the team for holding consultations with the other parliamentary forces party leader Georgi Purvanov, floor leader Krassimir Premianov and member of the Executive Bureau Miroslav Popov. The BSP's Supreme Council will hold another plenum early next week if the consultations with the political forces turn out unsuccessful. On January 8 a meeting of the leadership of the three coalition partners (the BSP, the Eco- Glasnost Political Club and the Alexander Stamboliiski Bulgarian Agrarian National Union) will appoint the prime minister designate of the Democratic Left.

[04] PARLIAMENT CHAIRMAN SENDOV MEETS ISRAELI BUSINESSMEN

During the talks with Sendov the Israeli businessmen presented concrete projects for the purchase of factories and the opening of new light industry enterprises. The business conditions in Bulgaria are good, provided we cope with bureaucracy, said Moshe Kario, who owns a company producing fridges for industrial applications. Parliament Chairman Sendov told the guests that efforts are currently being taken in Bulgaria to create favourable conditions for the attraction of foreign capital. The Israeli businessmen were assured that procedures are being drafted to facilitate the resumption of Bulgarian citizenship to Bulgarian Jews stripped from it during World War II.

[05] URGENTLY NEEDED: NEW LEFT CABINET

Videnov explained that this will be a government that will achieve a national concord on a strong programme for management and with a strong will for its implementation. In his view the incumbent Cabinet feels the duty to cooperate in every possible way for all positive changes of that kind in the government of the Democratic Left. For that reason the outgoing Cabinet will come up with its drafts on the 1997 budget bill and the related programmes and laws, Videnov said.

According to Mr Videnov, the parliamentary opposition is trying to replace the problem of what should be done with the problem of who should do it and the intra-party opponents to the government of the Democratic Left, for their part, with the problem of how to do it. The outgoing Government's views about the problems so far and about Bulgaria's future chances have been stated in its 1995-1996 report and its project for financial stabilization, structural reforms and economic growth, Mr Videnov said.

Zhan Videnov believes that the idea for national concord for the introduction of a currency board can and should be achieved through the election of a government of the Democratic Left as soon as possible.

The international financial institutions have expressed in their positions concern over the intra-party critics lashed at the government of the Democratic Left. It is not a secret that it was exactly last year, at the time when the incumbent government took the exceptionally difficult road of long-delayed reforms, that the attacks from the inside became stronger and the Government was systematically deprived of support and forced to resign. The international financial institutions are justified to view this as lack of concord within the ruling majority on the policy of financial stabilization through structural reforms, the outgoing Prime Minister said.

"Everybody can see today that neither the external, nor the intra- party opposition have come up with an alternative to this policy. But we as a nation must prove to ourselves and before our foreign partners that we are determined to follow this policy and in the election of the new government I see the decisive step in that direction," Videnov said.

"I have no intention of standing for senior positions in the party, in the executive or in the Parliament and I told my party's congress my motives for that decision," Mr Videnov said when asked about his future participation in the executive power.

[06] PRESS REVIEW

A kamikaze government will implement the Videnov-sponsored program, writes the "Troud" daily. The paper says that the new prime minister will be named at a plenum of the ruling Left on January 8, 1997. It is already clear that noone but the Bulgarian Business Bloc will agree to negotiations with the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) on a coalition government, "Troud" says.

BSP's last chance is a prime-minister magician, writes "Standart News". The new Leader of the Socialist Party was censured already during the first 10 days after his election. According to "Standart News", in the end of last week BSP refused Purvanov the formation of an executive bureau of consensus and elected in this body advocates of Videnov's way of government.

Negotiations On Currency Board Frustrated

The currency board, a measure proposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to lead Bulgaria out of the financial and economic crisis, can be introduced in this country in April 1997 at the earliest, "Standart News" quotes ex-finance minister Stoyan Alexandrov as saying. According to Alexandrov, hyperinflation may be reached by this time.

The currency board should make its actions transparent so as to enjoy confidence, the same daily writes citing an article by Mileti Mladenov, former vice governor of the National Bank of Bulgaria. However, Mladenov does not make projections on when the board will possibly be introduced.

IMF and the World Bank are fed up with Bulgaria, "Troud" writes. The IMF postpones the visit of its mission to Bulgaria, which means that the implementation of the currency board will either be delayed or cancelled, the daily says. An IMF mission visited here in late December 1996 to specify the technical conditions on the introduction of the board.

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