Former prime minister Boyko Borissov won the fourth parliamentary election in 18 months but is now finding it difficult to sell his anti-Putin coalition proposal as parties are concerned over his party’s poor record on corruption.
Bulgaria, of which nearly half the population has strong pro-Russian sentiments, is facing yet another political crisis.
“Let’s try to calm the situation down. I am ready for any concessions and compromises,” announced GERB leader Borissov during his first press conference after the election victory.
GERB won with just over 25% of the votes, but the party finds itself politically isolated because the deputies of two parties that would support it – DPS and “Bulgarian Rise” – are not enough to form a cabinet.
Pro-Russian radical party Vazrazhdane, which came in fourth with about 10% of the votes, works for the withdrawal of Bulgaria from NATO and the EU – meaning an alliance would raise too many questions for Borissov in Brussels.
The ex-prime minister would thus have to look to the pro-European reformist parties, “We continue the change” and “Democratic Bulgaria”, though they do not want to negotiate with GERB due to its corrupt past.
During GERB’s rule, Bulgaria did not do well in its fight against corruption and media freedom was sharply curtailed. On top of that, Borissov was suspected of behind-the-scenes connections with the Kremlin over the construction of the extension of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline to Serbia and Hungary.
Now the ex-prime minister is proposing the country’s two other pro-European parties join his anti-Putin coalition.
Before the elections, the We continue the change party said it would only negotiate with GERB if Borissov stepped down as the party’s leader. He is not ready for this move and proposes not to hold official positions in power.
“Now, the most important thing in Bulgaria is who is on the side of Ukraine and who is not. Let this be the first topic on which we clearly state our positions. Three-quarters of Bulgaria’s population is in favour of continuing the country’s Euro-Atlantic path,” said Borissov.
However, GERB voted to oust the previous Bulgarian government despite its active pro-European policy and success in negotiating the lifting of the veto on the European integration of North Macedonia imposed during Borissov’s rule.
“A governing coalition that says at the outset that corruption will somehow sweep it under the carpet will not enjoy public support,” said Democratic Bulgaria leader Hristo Ivanov in response to GERB’s offer.
“If we say that corruption is not a priority for us, it means that we will steal or tolerate theft. … It is the huge door through which the hand of the Kremlin enters,” Ivanov also said.
The coalition proposed by Borissov is not impressing We Continue to Change either.
“GERB should also organise a negotiation process with DPS (the party of the Turkish minority, Renew Europe) and Vazrazhdane (radical pro-Russian), with which they overthrew the previous government with the mandate of Continuing the change. If they fail, then the mandate will come to us. Then we will try to organise negotiations,” the party’s chairman Asen Vassilev told national radio BNR Sunday.
“Whether it will succeed – I doubt it since with DB and BSP, we do not have enough deputies. It will be difficult to put something together, but that does not mean that it should not be tried,” he added.
“The parties are only pretending that they are trying to form a government. They would gladly leave the difficult work during this difficult winter to President Rumen Radev,” commented the political scientist Parvan Simeonov from the sociological agency Gallup International Balkan.
“They will even point the finger at him and tell him that he is overusing his power. … This is a step towards weakening the democratic instincts in Bulgaria, and they are not very strong anyway,” Simeonov added.
New snap election would likely punish the party that failed to form a government this time around, Simeonov said.