19882 | 25 Sept. 2025 | 15:26

During the tenure of Nikolay Denkov, all legislative proposals were submitted with the signatures of Kiril Petkov, Boyko Borisov, and Delyan Peevski. When Peevski communicated with Denkov's ministers, was it a problem for the opposition

Journalist Valeria Veleva was a special guest on "Darik Day" to comment on current domestic political topics.

"Delyan Peevski is a leader, and the MRF is on the rise," she stated in her interview with Bozhidar Rusev on Darik Radio.

"Bulgaria is governed by a parliamentary majority composed of a minority government and a political force that supports it. Quorum is, in principle, an obligation of the governing party. There are many MPs who are currently on foreign business trips, but quorum is a duty of the governing party," Valeria Veleva said.

"The minority government is something we have not had before, composed of parties with ideological incompatibilities. GERB, BSP, and TISP are in an extremely strong government dependency on compromises that they must make in the name of governing the country. There is also an important stabilizing factor from MRF-NEW BEGINNING, whose leader Delyan Peevski has repeatedly stressed that the government will complete its full term - we wish them well," she said.

In response to a question about disagreements between the leaders of GERB and BSP and whether this could lead to the collapse of the cabinet in the coming months, as claimed by the opposition, Veleva said: "There will be no collapse of the 'Zhelyazkov' cabinet in the coming days or months. I differentiate between personal and party relations. Borisov and Peevski are leaders with great ego, at the helm of two major political parties, where the leader's word and will is law." There are always critical moments in governing a country. It cannot be expected for Peevski to approve everything that Borisov does, and vice versa. Due to their egos, there were exchanges of sharp remarks, which the media immediately inflated. GERB and MRF-NEW BEGINNING have their own path of development. GERB is an established party with serious influence in central and local government, while MRF is currently on the rise. It will further expand in the future. That is why Peevski is more reactive compared to Borisov. The leader of GERB is more balanced, centrist, while Peevski acts according to the party line, which he must follow. By defending their egos, both of them will not reach a conflict that could destabilize the government. They will not allow this with a sense of responsibility towards the state," says Valeria Veleva.

"The common path of Borisov and Peevski is navigating the state through this difficult strait with the introduction of the euro, which may be accompanied by economic shocks. They will not allow the common boat to sway. I am absolutely sure of that," commented the journalist.

Regarding the exchange of sharp remarks, Veleva stated:

"In politics, even with heightened tensions, there is a boundary that, once crossed, cannot be undone. At the moment, neither Borisov nor Peevski have crossed it. Yes, they exchanged remarks, but they were not discriminatory towards each other, there was no reason to take offense. Borisov criticized Peevski, but Peevski remained silent and there was no response from him towards Borisov." Peevski returns the ball of tension in the field of executive power, in the field of politics, where both must be together - Borisov as a mandate carrier, Peevski as a guarantor of the government. Peevski reacted gentlemanly in the situation with Borisov ", said Veleva.

Regarding Peevski's communication with the ministers, Veleva recalled:

"During the time of Nikolay Denkov's government, all draft laws that were introduced were signed by Kiril Petkov, Boyko Borisov and Delyan Peevski. So when Peevski communicated with the ministers of Denkov, was it a problem for the opposition, for the state?" Denkov invited Delyan Peevski to sit next to him at his meeting with grain producers, which was difficult and he could not handle it alone. So you accept Peevski when you need him, and reject him when you don't need him. This is absurd! GERB has shown a double standard, political ineptitude, and this has brought them to the point of radicalization today because they are unable to handle parliamentary tools. After you accepted Delian Peevski to be with you when you were in power, you have no grounds now to criticize him for supporting Borisov.”

On Peevski's reaction and his clash with Asen Vassilev in front of the Parliament building:

“For years there has been heavy demonization of Boyko Borissov and Delian Peevski on social media - ugly, offensive words, disgusting collages. The two of them endured this cynical verbal aggression against them for too long. And at one point, when Peevski spoke in the language of his opponents, we shouted: “oh my god”. How did the ugly scene in front of Parliament start? It started with the ugly screams of Kiril Petkov directly at Peevski. This is the reality. The language of Kiril Petkov is disgusting, why is he allowed to do this? You cannot stand on the street and shout in this vulgar manner at a party leader - especially when you were managing with the same person two years ago. Part of the chat communication between Kiril Petkov and Delian Peevski has become public. We read how persistently Kiril Petkov was looking for Peevski, how he begged him to "listen" to him when he would appear on a certain TV show. Then, when you call at night to the same political leader, at whom you now scream obscenities, and before that you were managing with him, what is the meaning of this behavior? It's madness... You go out onto the street and want to radicalize it, because your arguments in the meeting room do not hold weight. "Street protests cannot bring down this government," Valeria Velewa is categorical and emphasizes: "The radicalization of speech started with President Radev."

"At the start of September 2020, during the opening of the parliamentary session, Rumen Radev declared to the Members of Parliament that "the parliament is not here, it is out on the streets." Two months prior, the head of state raised his fist against legitimate authority and began to destroy the structure. He created the presidential party "We Continue the Change" and later called them charlatans. The administration of Kiril Petkov is one of the biggest failures of the Bulgarian political class. Such a failure has never been seen in the 35-year history of Bulgaria." In the last 4-5 years, the aggressiveness in the verbal expression of politicians was fueled by President Radev. No previous president had allowed such a style of behavior and language - on the contrary, they tried to mediate between political leaders, not to produce aggression between them," said Veleva.

The host stated that the opposition talks about "hounding" the politics, to which Veleva replied:

"When you talk about hounding, you should know that this will not go unpunished. In the same way, you will receive the same blows. When you designate someone as a victim, it does not mean that they will accept this role forever. This happened with Peevski, who was put in the role of the victim for a long time and today he refuses to accept it. We have reached a level of harsh political discourse from which there is no return. The genie is out of the bottle. We will hear even worse words, we will see even more radicalization and aggression in political speech, which will unfortunately infect our children," she said.

How do we understand Peevski's thesis about a country with a capital "D", asked host Bozhidar Rusev.

"We all have to make Bulgaria with a capital "B" and a state with a capital "S", but after politicians give up everything we have commented on so far. If the country is governed by laws, according to the rules of parliamentarism and normal political discourse, then we can talk about a state with a capital "S". For the average person, the biggest problem is the lack of water, not the relationship between Borisov and Peevski. From what Peesvki is doing, we understand that he wants a state where people's problems are solved," commented Velewa.

"MRF-NEW BEGINNING is the only party in the moment, which is increasing its rating. This is because the leader of the party does not attack other leaders, but works for the people. Go and see in places where MRF is in power. See Dzhebel," she pointed out.

"Whether there will be a state without Peesvki or without Borisov, the voters will decide, not the commentators in the studios. The fact that Borisov and GERB currently have 26%, and Peesvki is the second political power, means that the voters are the ones who decide the place of a politician in the coordinate system of Bulgaria. Have you seen any alternatives in politics today? Did you see how disappointed the last vote for the "captured state" was, defending this vote by the CC. The presentation of the thesis during this vote was missing, and the strongest experts in this vote were Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev and politician Yordan Tsonev. None of the speakers of "We Continue the Change" defended this vote convincingly. With such political ineptitude, they cannot bring down this government.

"There are serious challenges facing the government, but when you want to bring it down, you must truly provide an alternative. GERB and MRF together are the alternative for the next elections. Is this what "We Continue the Change" wants? The continuous talking for and against Borisov and Peevski raises their ratings. It is becoming ingrained in the minds of Bulgarians that without Borisov and Peevski, the day cannot pass. The duo of Borisov and Peevski can be the political duo of the year," believes Valeria Veleva.

"Not the state, but those from CC are taken over by Delyan Peevski. They attended Peevski's birthday party. They have accepted that Delyan Peevski is such a strong political leader that they cannot govern without him. Now what is their problem?", stated Valeria Veleva to Bozhidar Rusev.