DSB Leader Declares Bulgaria's Reformist Bloc Alliance as Exhausted

Radan Kanev, the leader of Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB), which is one of the parties constituting the Reformist Bloc (RB), declared the alliance as exhausted.

Kanev said this at a meeting with the leaders of local structures of DSB in Sofia on Saturday.

He also announced the beginning of a new political project in the right political spectrum centered around DSB, which will have nothing to do with RB.

In his words, the new project needs clear ideology and tight organisation.

Kanev also made an analysis of the first year in office of the coalition government of GERB and RB.

According to him, the government scored successes in the healthcare reform, foreign policy and defence.

However it failed in all other areas, namely the reforms of the administration, social security and pension systems, anti-corruption policy, justice, and public procurement.

In his words, the end results were poverty, inequality and increasing emigration.

He pointed that the overreliance on EU funds created heavy dependency on external financing.

In his opinion, the lack of political unity within RB led to failure of the alliance to fulfill its goals.

Therefore, DSB could no longer tolerate the government and the only possible step it could take was to leave it.

Kanev asked his fellow party members to debate and plan the reorganisation of DSB until March when a national council of the party will be held, with the aim being for the party to become second political power.

He criticised GERB for voting in parliament together with the second largest opposition party - the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), which maintained the status quo and sustained the reign of the mafia, leading the country towards financial...