Continued political chaos… The respite in Bulgaria’s political scene lasted only nine months and the scene is repeating itself: Inability of political parties to agree and new early parliamentary elections on the horizon. Bulgaria is heading for its sixth parliamentary election in three years.
The two biggest political powers put aside their differences in June 2023 to form a pro-European government amid the war in Ukraine. However, the alliance did not last long.
In theory, Foreign Minister Marija Gabriel was set to succeed Nikolai Denkof as prime minister under an agreement to rotate the country’s leadership.
But nothing went according to plan and both camps blamed each other for the political chaos.
The two pro-Western alliances of GERB and the Union of Democratic Forces (GERB-SDS) and Continuing the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) could not agree on the continuation of the coalition they formed in June 2023 due to disagreements over personnel and reforms.
Faced with controversy and furore, the former European commissioner threw in the towel last week.
The former liberal partners withdrew in turn on Wednesday, paving the way for yet another election process, possibly on the same day or shortly after the June 9 European elections.
Today Saturday, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev instructed the head of the Court of Auditors, Dimitar Glavtsev, to form a transitional government to hold early elections.
Faced with political tensions in Bulgaria, Glavchev reportedly wants to form an interim cabinet of “politically independent experts”.
“We are the world’s champions in organizing elections,” says political scientist Teodor Slaven, as the Balkan country goes through an unprecedented crisis since the fall of communism in 1989. A situation that the Kremlin is not happy about, according to Slaven.
In this country, for many years in the Soviet sphere of influence, strategically important because of its location on the edge of the Black Sea, “Russian influence remains strong and Moscow wants instability,” he explains to AFP. Pro-Russian parties can take advantage of the political upheaval to expand their electoral shares.
The …old guard present and active to maintain the status quo
At the center of this new act in the political saga is former prime minister Boyko Borissov, who dominated political life for a decade before stepping down following a wave of anti-corruption protests in the summer of 2020.
While unable to return to power, Borissov continues to pull the strings as boss of the still-powerful conservative GERB party, analysts say.
According to the director of the Market Links institute Dobromir Zinkov, Borisov, a large man with a shaved head, a former bodyguard, is this time lobbying to gain key positions for his followers and “block the reforms” initiated by the government , particularly in the justice and intelligence services. Among the challenges, the selection of the new attorney general,
Borissov’s goal: to maintain the “status quo,” in partnership with lawmaker Delian Peevski, a former media mogul targeted by US and British corruption sanctions.
In the opposite camp, the reformers of the Continuing Change party, founded by 40-year-old Harvard-educated businessmen, have failed to maintain the momentum that had temporarily brought them to power in 2022.
The protests four years ago raised hopes for a change, but “no revolution” took place. “Society is reduced to slow and painful changes while political elites renew themselves.”
Meanwhile, Bulgarians continue to migrate west due to a lack of prospects in their country, the poorest in the EU and the hopes of those who remain disappointed.
Political unrest could further delay full Schengen membership, a 13-year wait. On Sunday, access will be limited to air and sea routes, with road transport – although the most affected by border controls – unaffected.
Another failed ambition for the country… that of joining the Eurozone by 2025, a goal that is now unrealistic.
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