On the draft composition of the caretaker cabinet and the factors underlying the political situation in Bulgaria

published on 4/8/24 1:42 PM

Photo: BTA archive

A few days ago, caretaker Prime Minister-designate Dimitar Glavchev announced the composition of the interim government that will govern the country in the coming months until the 9 June elections, which will be held together with the vote for the European Parliament.

The names of some of the ministers provoked strong reactions from the "We Continue the Change" - "Democratic Bulgaria" (PP-DB), who even walked out of the consultations with the President at the time of the announcement of the composition of the government.

The question, however, is why Bulgaria is once again in the grip of a political deadlock that has led to the sixth early election in three years.

"For me, what happened was not really a mystery," London-based journalist Maria Spirova told BNR. "It was clear that GERB had no intention of playing fair, because it is a party driven solely by the ambition to succeed. A large part of Bulgarian society likes them for that very reason. But their success comes at the price of outright deceit. Every agreement GERB has reached with its former partners resembles a chess game in which GERB not only plays with the queen but also flips the board at will. They have no respect for the previously negotiated rules. For GERB, it is essential not to allow any change in the power structures. The negotiated change of power was sabotaged to prevent the removal of Kalin Stoyanov as interior minister and to prevent changes to the law on the judiciary. GERB has returned to power so many times in order to block the development of legal changes. This saga will not end soon, and what happened was inevitable."

The composition of the caretaker government is a "slap in the face" for the PP-DB, according to political psychologist Prof. Antoaneta Hristova, while the coalition's withdrawal from the presidential talks is a PR stunt that reveals weakness. In her words, the parties that took part in the consultations with the president (and these were all parliamentary forces except for the BSP, and subsequently without the PP-DB - ed.) signalled that they were ready to cooperate in a future government after the parliamentary vote. And the next National Assembly will have urgent tasks:

"The constitutional changes are outrageous. They are a betrayal of the national and public interest. All this must be urgently amended in the next parliament. For this to happen, there must be a high turnout and activation of the protest vote. It is very important that there are enough alternatives for the protest vote. This group, which did not vote and turned away from both GERB and PP-DB, is looking for someone to give their protest vote to. There are conditions for a protest vote to overturn the political situation for the leading parties, if only there were an alternative, and that is a problem".

Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev and President Rumen Radev (05.04.2024)

President Rumen Radev has given caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev until the end of today to make changes to the composition of the caretaker cabinet. Whether this will happen, and whether the parliamentary parties will be appeased, remains to be seen. Glavchev himself, after presenting his nominations for ministers on Friday, said that the list was final. Meanwhile, political analyst Daniel Smilov described the current composition as an anti-PP-DB government.

"The proposed government is practically dominated by GERB, with the presence of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF).

It is not true that there are ministers from the PP-DB, because they remain in it only as experts. I also expect the parliamentary majority to change in the coming months. A new majority will be formed around GERB and the MRF, either with the help of people from either There is Such a People (ITN), or Vazrazhdane and even the occasional BSP person.

Former deputy prime minister and minister in two governments, Ivaylo Kalfin, believes that from the outside, the situation in Bulgaria suggests that the country is mired in a permanent political crisis.

"Bulgaria's credibility as a reliable ally and as a country capable of looking after its own interests is diminishing. The truth is that life goes on, there are many things happening in the world, some of which require a response from countries, and we are only dealing with ourselves."

Kalfin drew attention to some of the European issues that remain in the background in our country due to political instability:

"Of course there are some national specifics, but the priority for all EU citizens remains the international situation and the war in Ukraine, Ivaylo Kalfin said. - Another issue is how to tackle climate change. Bulgaria has an interest in being actively involved in dealing with these issues, because one of the causes of high mortality rates in Bulgaria is precisely polluted air. The questions about climate policy are: how much will it cost, who is going to pay for it, is there a clear strategy to guide it, etc.".

The former foreign minister also recalled that Bulgaria is lagging behind and has not yet received the second tranche of funds earmarked for it under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, an issue that the Head of State himself raised during consultations with parliamentary political forces on April 5, expressing hope that during the caretaker cabinet our country would make a step forward in terms of the second tranche of the RRP.

Photos: BTA, BGNES. Ani Petrova

Translated and posted by Elizabeth Radkova

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