Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Political and institutional confrontation heralds a tense end of 2017

БНР Новини
Photo: BGNES

During the outgoing week the parliament in Sofia voted against the resignation submitted by the MP from the ruling party Gerb Delian Dobrev. He decided to step down after he had faced accusations from the left-wing opposition of irregularities at the Municipality of Haskovo. Dobrev had coordinated his resignation with Prime Minister and Gerb leader Boyko Borissov and the refusal of MPs to accept the resignation was interpreted as a sign of frictions between the parliamentary Gerb and its leader.

Earlier this week an interim parliamentary commission decided to return for voting the project for the purchase of new fighter jets on grounds that it had been compromised including by President Ruman Radev in his former capacity of commander of the Bulgarian Air Force. PM Borissov tried to play down the conflict of the MPs from the ruling Gerb with the president, but Rumen Radev rejected the “ceasefire” offer saying that Gerb was waging an institutional and media war on the Presidency. He added that there could be no accord to benefit the corruption comfort of the party in power and that he intended to follow the principle of fighting fire with fire.

Some observers speculate that political debates have grown bitter of late as a result of certain tensions inside the oppositional Bulgarian Socialist Party. They explain that after party leader Kornelia Ninova replaced most of the party leadership, she has now been trying to consolidate her new circle of close associates by hardening her tone of voice to the ruling coalition.

Others speculate that both with the ruling party and the opposition there is a trend of tightening party ranks with a view to the upcoming local elections. Gerb’s parliamentary leader Tsvetan Tsvetanov already identified such a need though these elections are due two years from now.

Time will tell which hypotheses are the right ones and to what extent. It has already become obvious however that the months by the end of the year will be tense and hot where political affairs in Bulgaria are concerned.

English Daniela Konstantinova




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Former PM Kiril Petkov.

Kiril Petkov: Peevski and Borissov on the political scene - it is terribly expensive!

At the moment, GERB leader Boyko Borissov is being blackmailed by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) co-chairman Delyan Peevski, and from "There is Such a People" (ITN). He is receiving "appalling proposals that combine stupidity and boundless..

published on 6/19/24 6:32 PM

7 parties in the new parliament, 7 perspectives on the future government

''Disunity erodes statehood. Bulgarian voters want changes, and it is the task of politicians to deliver them in a planned, deliberate and justified manner", Silvi Kirilov from There is Such a People Party, who is the oldest MP in the 50th National..

updated on 6/19/24 1:31 PM
Professor Ognyan Gerdzhikov

Ognyan Gerdzhikov: It is time for a change in the electoral system and the emergence of a new meaningful political project

Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev has issued a decree convening the first session of the newly elected 50 th National Assembly on June 19, 2024. At the recent snap elections, Bulgarians sent seven political formations to the new parliament. The first..

published on 6/19/24 6:15 AM