Bulgaria Appoints Interim Government and Calls Early Parliamentary Elections
On Tuesday, April 9, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev made the decision to appoint an interim cabinet of ministers to prepare the country for early parliamentary elections. The sixth election in the last three years is scheduled for June 9 — the same day as the European Parliament elections, according to BNR. The interim government is led by former speaker and head of the National Audit Office Dimitar Glavchev.
Earlier, Bulgaria's two largest parties failed to renew a coalition agreement that had kept the government in power for 9 months. As a result, on March 6, the Bulgarian parliament unanimously accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and his government during its session.
It's worth noting that political rivals and their forces — former Prime Ministers Boyko Borisov and Kiril Petkov — united last year to form a government aimed at ending Bulgaria's constant early elections and creating a stable majority. It's reported that this political instability had caused significant harm to Bulgaria, particularly hindering the country's efforts to adopt the euro and secure additional funding from the EU.
However, even this coalition proved unsustainable over time. Struggles for administrative positions and different plans for implementing reforms ended the cabinet's activities just as Maria Gabriel, former EU commissioner and a member of Boyko Borisov's party, was poised to become prime minister.
Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in two governments Ivaylo Kalfin believes that externally, Bulgaria's situation indicates that the country is stuck in a perpetual political crisis.
"Trust in Bulgaria as a reliable ally and as a country capable of looking after its own interests is diminishing. The truth is that life goes on, many events are happening in the world, some of which require responses from countries, and we are only concerned with ourselves," said Ivaylo Kalfin.
He also pointed out certain European issues that remain secondary in Bulgaria due to political instability.
"Of course, there is a certain national specificity, but the priority for all EU citizens remains the international situation and the war in Ukraine," said the former deputy prime minister.
Recall that The Gaze reported that nine Balkan countries, including Bulgaria, joined the Declaration on Military Justice in Ukraine, demanding an end to Russian aggression and punishment for Russian military criminals.