Sergei Stanishev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and outgoing Prime Minister, on Saturday received a vote of confidence from the National Council of his party after asking for assessment of the BSP's performance in the government.

"I insist that today [Saturday, July 18] express their attitude by a vote of confidence in the party leader," Stanishev said at the beginning of a plenum that was open to the media. In his words, irrespective of his personal mistakes, there is nothing he should be ashamed of or to describe as a failure as BSP leader and prime minister. In Stanishev's view, now is not the time to form a caretaker Executive Bureau of the party.

Stanishev received a confidence vote in a secret ballot; 129 of the 153 of the National Council members who were present at the plenum voted him confidence, and 22 did not, members of the supreme party body said.

Georgi Bliznashki, member of the National Council, described the vote as "obstinacy to keep the incumbent BSP leader and his aides in their positions." In his opinion, after such a resounding election loss every leader would have resigned.

"What was not discussed at today's plenum of the National Council was the crucial theme of corruption," Bliznashki said. "It is well know that this [corruption] has been one of the Achilles heels of the government but this problem is passed in silence," Bliznashki went on to say. According to him, the BSP did not find the strength to expose those of its members who committed abuse of office, therefore it is left to those coming into power to do it. The National Agency for National Security could not do its job and prevent power abuse in the high echelons, Bliznashki said.

"We cannot be a left party and support measures that further enhance inequality," Bliznashki observed citing as an example flat tax rates. He said he had been much surprised to learn that the deputy finance minister, who backed up the idea vehemently, was a member of a number of managing boards and earned about 200,000 leva in a year.

Bliznashki announced that a commission headed by Stanishev and including all members of the National Council, as well as representatives of the t Left Forces Alliance and the Open Forum Federation in the BSP would make arrangements for the upcoming extraordinary congress of the party.

Source: BTA