The Bulgarian parliament expressed confidence in the minority coalition government led by conservatives. The new government has the support of 125 deputies in the 240-member parliament. The priority of the new cabinet is Bulgaria’s entry into the Eurozone and the modernization of the army.
Bulgaria’s parliament on Thursday gave a vote of confidence in the conservative-led minority coalition government formed in an effort to end the country’s long-running political crisis. The new government in the 240-member parliament was supported by 125 deputies, 114 were against. It was reported by the AFP agency.
The leading force of the triple coalition is the pro-Western alliance Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria – Union of Democratic Forces (GERB-SDS), which won the elections held on October 27 – the seventh in three and a half years. Its chairman is three-time prime minister Bojko Borisov, who was forced to resign in May 2021 by massive anti-corruption protests.
They are ready to accept a compromise
Borisov wanted to become the head of the fourth government, but President Rumen Radev eventually entrusted it to the formation of the former speaker of the parliament, Rosen Žeľazkov. On Wednesday, he presented a minority cabinet consisting of GERB-SDS, socialists and the populist party Je taký národ (ITN). The government will be supported by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), representing ethnic Turks. Žeľazkov also announced that the coalition agreement had already been signed.
Zelazkov, who has held various posts in previous GERB-led governments, including transport minister, said before the vote that he would try to overcome the political crisis facing Bulgaria. Among other things, he announced that the new government will continue efforts for Bulgaria’s entry into the eurozone. Among his priorities are the modernization of the army and the improvement of the work of judicial authorities.
In a recent poll by the Mjara agency, 76 percent of respondents said they were ready to accept any compromise between political parties to finally form a functioning government. “After four years of political crisis in Bulgaria, some kind of government simply had to be formed,” said Parvan Simeonov from the Mjara agency. However, according to him, this does not mean that the political crisis in Bulgaria is over.
