Negotiations on the formation of a new ruling coalition in Bulgaria will kick off next week, but the media are already analyzing developments.

Trud writes that senior officials in Berlin and Brussels have been probing GERB and the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) on the formation of a grand coalition between these two biggest parties in the country. One of the motives is said to be to form a stable government in view of Bulgaria’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU. But most of all to impress on them that any involvement of the United Patriots coalition in a future cabinet must be avoided, as the traditional ruling parties in the EU – the European People’s Party and the Party of European Socialists are against nationalist formations, Trud adds.

Dnevnik and Standart highlightthe words one of the United Patriots’ co-chairmen Valery Simeonov, who publicly lobbied for the formation of a grand coalition – GERB and the BSP, with the participation of the patriots. Dnevnik writes that Simeonov stated explicitly that he was expressing his own, private opinion, whereas Standart adds that, in Simeonov’s words, whether it will be called coalition or expert government does not really matter, what does matter is to put a stop to confrontation. Given all this, party leaders should shelve their own ego, which he himself is ready to do, he said. Valery Simeonov advises GERB leader Boyko Borissov and BSP leader Kornelia Ninova not to take over as prime minister of a future government, the idea being to change the public’s perception that politics is more like an altercation between the fans of two rival football clubs. The co-chairman of the United Patriots comments further that there were no hysterical reactions after he took his idea to the leaderships of GERB and of the BSP.

24 Chassa adds that according to Simeonov, the new party Volya, with leader businessman Veselin Mareshki which came fifth in the elections on Sunday, was a “non-systemic, nebulous and unpredictable political entity” he would find it difficult to form a coalition with, and that “if its platform was to bring down the price of petrol and medicines, that is ridiculous.”

Compiled by Stoimen Pavlov

English version: Milena Daynova