Bulgaria’s two ruling parties have failed to transfer power at the first attempt to alternate the premiership within its grand coalition, heralding a likely sixth election in three years, writes Marton Dunai
Last May the conservative Gerb party and the liberal We Continue the Change (PP) agreed to form a government with power switching every nine months.
The political turmoil is likely to complicate efforts to integrate further into the EU mainstream. Bulgaria will join the EU’s border-free Schengen zone in air and maritime traffic next week, with an ambition to join fully in the coming year. It is also working to adopt the euro next year.
The mess has still wider ramifications. Gerb are members of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s EPP group, and their capture of the prime minister’s chair was set to give the EPP 13 of the EU’s 27 leaders for the June discussions to decide on granting her a second term.
During their brief marriage, Gerb and PP have squabbled over bureaucratic positions and reforms of the country’s judicial system, anti-corruption bodies and the secret services.
All of those proved too much to hold the coalition together, with PP blaming former premier and Gerb powerbroker Boyko Borisov for sabotaging the reforms to prevent legal challenges against his allies, and accusing him of attempting to keep Russian proxies functional in the former Communist country.
“Did a working judicial system, working regulators, and reformed secret services finally turn out to be the problem?” PP leader and former premier Kiril Petkov wrote in a post on Facebook. Earlier he wrote: “Borisov is afraid because of old sins and preferred a [political] explosion in Bulgaria.”
Gerb, which won the most votes in last year’s election, rejected those accusations. It has returned the mandate to form a government to President Rumen Radev.
“Until the last moment, [PP] were insolent, they wanted to usurp power,” Borisov told reporters, adding his last-minute proposals to reshape the coalition were ignored. So “we made a final decision to protect the people, democracy, and now the PP have their chance”.
Both parties have admitted that the most likely outcome is a snap election in the next few months — a step that will only further delay reforms demanded by Brussels.
Bulgaria is also a Nato member and an important weapons supplier to Ukraine, too. Some analysts worry that the turmoil could disrupt that, or promote pro-Russian rhetoric from the country’s political extremes.
This article was written by Henry Foy from The Financial Times and was legally licensed through the DiveMarketplace by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.