Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov and his predecessor Plamen Oresharski took a different stand on the legacy that the previous cabinet of Sergei Stanishev had bequeathed to the new Government of Boiko Borissov.

On August 13 2009 Oresharski accepted Dyankov's invitation for a meeting with him and Borissov regarding Dyankov's findings that Stanishev's cabinet had accumulated a budget deficit of 556 million leva in the last three months of its term, widening the gap in public finances to 372 million leva by July.

During the election campaign both Stanishev and Oresharski claimed that Bulgaria was in a good enough financial state and that there were enough buffers laid down in the budget to face the consequences of the ongoing economic crisis.

On August 12, however, Dyankov, who took office on July 27 together with the rest of the new Cabinet, said that Stanishev's coalition government has also used money from the fiscal reserve, which was reduced by more than 500 million leva to 7.7 billion leva at the end of July, from 8.2 billion leva as at June 30 2009.

On August 13, however, Oresharski said that by June 2009 the previous government had spent just 34 per cent of its planned expenditure, Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily quoted him as saying. According to him, July is traditionally a slow month for public finances, hence it shouldn't serve as an excuse.

He also said that the budget was planned in a way that allowed the government to introduce restrictions without the sanctions of Parliament and it was up to the new Government to decide whether it will do it alone or through Parliament.

Dyankov, on the other hand, said that July data had revealed a deteriorating budget situation and Stanishev's words that he had left the country with a budget surplus were not true.

He once again said that the budget deficit in July was 556 million leva and described it as "enormously big", Dnevnik said. In January 2009 the budget surplus was 907 million leva, he said, while 10 days before the new government took its oath it was already gone and the country had a budget deficit of 202 million leva.