Former leader of the left Sergei Stanishev is participating in the race for chairman of the BSP. At a press conference at BTA, Stanishev indicated that he is "entering the race" with the other candidates in order to return "meaning and politics in BSP". 

He pointed out that he feels this as his duty and recalled that for 13 years he was the leader of BSP, and for 11 - president of the Party of European Socialists. According to him, the feeling of the party members, as well as the public, is that the left is in its final stages and has no perspective. "In this sense, the upcoming congress cannot be routine, lulled by the sweet aroma of power and the realized or upcoming appointments", Stanishev added and warned that the entry of the BSP into the government could prove deadly.