President Ruman Radev on Wednesday handed a formal mandate to create an administration to the center-right GERB party. His move came after GERB managed to secure the support from other parties for a proposed cabinet.
Rosen Zhelyazkov, a GERB MP, is set to become the new prime minister, if the agreement struck between his party and the leftist Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the populist There Is Such a People Party (ITN) holds.
Under the deal, the BSP and ITN will get posts in the new cabinet, although key ministries such as the interior, foreign and finance will fall under GERB’s control.
A new government, if formed, will end, to an extent, a period of intense political uncertainty in Bulgaria that prevailed following inconclusive elections in October.
Back then GERB won the most votes but fell well short of an absolute majority and so needed to strike agreements with some of the other parties jostling for power in the Bulgarian parliament.
However, it struggled to do this, with efforts hampered by weeks of haggling over who should become the new speaker of parliament. Although a speaker was eventually chosen, bickering between the parties fueled concerns that the country could be lurching towards yet another general election.
October’s vote was the seventh in three years and came as yet another milestone in a protracted period of political chaos in the country that has seen multiple governments crash and burn.
As part of the new deal, GERB has given the BSP the agriculture and environment ministries, giving it significant sway over the country’s execution and adherence to the EU’s Green Deal, which the Socialists have vowed to oppose.
The BSP’s presence in the administration will also likely hinder the government’s effort to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.
In the past, the BSP has opposed weapon deliveries to Ukraine, and in 2024 one of its members travelled to the Kremlin for an official visit after an invitation from Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president.
