Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel, of the center-right GERB party, said on Sunday no agreement had been reached on forming a new government with the We Continue the Change (PP) party. She withdrew her candidacy and announced that her party would not participate in subsequent negotiations, which may mean that the country will hold its fifth parliamentary elections in three years.
Gabriel agreed to try to form a government following the resignation of Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov of the PP party on March 6 to allow the GERB to lead the government for nine months, as agreed after last year’s elections.
Negotiations failed after three days of talks due to the PP continuing to make more and more demands, Gabriel said. According to the foreign minister, her party gave in to a lot of them, but the discussion over who would control the interior ministry was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“That is why we say ‘no’ to more and more new conditions,” she said. “GERB will not participate in negotiations for a second time.”
Gabriel said she was disappointed in the failure of the negotiations and that she will submit a letter to parliament on Monday saying she is withdrawing her candidacy for prime minister.
In practice, this means Bulgaria is heading for its fifth snap election in a span of three years. Parliamentary elections were held three times in 2021 (in April, July, and November). in October 2022, and in April 2023.
Bulgarian bother
In elections last April, GERB came first, winning 69 seats in the 240-seat parliament. The PP and Democratic Bulgaria (DB) coalition bloc won 64 seats (now down to 63).
GERB and PP-DB reached an agreement to form the government in June 2023. Part of the agreement envisioned that Nikolai Denkov would resign after nine months in office, which he did on March 6, and his resignation was accepted by the parliament. The attempts to renegotiate the coalition agreement have now failed.
According to the Bulgarian constitution, the president should now ask the second-largest party in parliament, in this case, the PP and the Democratic Bulgaria (DB) coalition bloc, to put forward a candidate for prime minister.
But experts agree that considering Gabriel’s pledge not to engage in further negotiations, the PP-DB will face an almost impossible challenge.
If a second candidate for prime minister from the two biggest parties fails to form a government, President Rumen Radev must name a third party that will propose a candidate. Only the failure of the third attempt would pave the way for snap elections, as under the constitution, the Bulgarian parliament does not have to dissolve itself otherwise.
The likeliest date for the election is June 9, when Bulgarians will vote for their representatives in the European parliament.
Polls show that GERB is 5-7 percentage points ahead of PP-DB (27% and 21% respectively, according to Politico’s poll of polls), which is a greater spread than at the ballot a year ago (25.39% and 23.54% respectively).
What is at stake is the pace of Bulgaria’s integration with the rest of the EU, as yet another snap election will likely push back the adoption of the euro currency and full membership in the Schengen Area.
Negotiations failed after three days of talks due to the PP continuing to make more and more demands, Gabriel said. According to the foreign minister, her party gave in to a lot of them, but the discussion over who would control the interior ministry was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“That is why we say ‘no’ to more and more new conditions,” she said. “GERB will not participate in negotiations for a second time.”
Gabriel said she was disappointed in the failure of the negotiations and that she will submit a letter to parliament on Monday saying she is withdrawing her candidacy for prime minister.
In practice, this means Bulgaria is heading for its fifth snap election in a span of three years. Parliamentary elections were held three times in 2021 (in April, July, and November). in October 2022, and in April 2023.
Bulgarian bother
In elections last April, GERB came first, winning 69 seats in the 240-seat parliament. The PP and Democratic Bulgaria (DB) coalition bloc won 64 seats (now down to 63).
GERB and PP-DB reached an agreement to form the government in June 2023. Part of the agreement envisioned that Nikolai Denkov would resign after nine months in office, which he did on March 6, and his resignation was accepted by the parliament. The attempts to renegotiate the coalition agreement have now failed.
According to the Bulgarian constitution, the president should now ask the second-largest party in parliament, in this case, the PP and the Democratic Bulgaria (DB) coalition bloc, to put forward a candidate for prime minister.
But experts agree that considering Gabriel’s pledge not to engage in further negotiations, the PP-DB will face an almost impossible challenge.
If a second candidate for prime minister from the two biggest parties fails to form a government, President Rumen Radev must name a third party that will propose a candidate. Only the failure of the third attempt would pave the way for snap elections, as under the constitution, the Bulgarian parliament does not have to dissolve itself otherwise.
The likeliest date for the election is June 9, when Bulgarians will vote for their representatives in the European parliament.
Polls show that GERB is 5-7 percentage points ahead of PP-DB (27% and 21% respectively, according to Politico’s poll of polls), which is a greater spread than at the ballot a year ago (25.39% and 23.54% respectively).
What is at stake is the pace of Bulgaria’s integration with the rest of the EU, as yet another snap election will likely push back the adoption of the euro currency and full membership in the Schengen Area.
Source: Reuters, PAP, TVP World
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