The Bulgarian National Assembly voted the resignation of the cabinet and President Plevneliev held immediate consultations with the main political parties to make a second attempt to form a cabinet within this Parliament.  

Three key events in one day marked the political Thursday in Bulgaria. The day started with the resignation of Bulgaria’s cabinet filed earlier on Wednesday. After one year of political scandals, a lack of quorum and political attacks, the National Assembly was full with MPs on Thursday morning to vote the resignation of Oresharski cabinet. At noon the political parties in the National Assembly declared to President Plevneliev that they would not make a second attempt to form a cabinet within the 42^nd National Assembly. The cabinet of minority of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms with the support of Ataka party governed this country for just over one year in a situation of heavy political crisis and a constant pressure exerted by the opposition GERB party. The cabinet survived 5 no-confidence votes during that period. However, after the elections for European Parliament on May 25, 2014, the relations between the ruling coalition partners worsened and the banking system was shaken. The resignation of the cabinet was inevitable and the early elections due this autumn-mandatory.

How Premier Oresharski assesses the work of his cabinet and how ruling parties and opposition assess its activity?

Premier Plamen Oresharski underlined that the cabinet was forced to work in the most difficult environment, but he always followed the interest of his nation. He said that a step forward was made regarding the pensions, the incomes and the social expenditures of the state. The economic indicators improved and 40,000 new jobs were opened, contends Premier Oresharski. How Oresharski assesses his work as Premier and what he failed to achieve? Here is what Premier Oresharski told Radio Bulgaria:

“I regret the fact that we did not have enough political support and time to make the structural reforms in some public sectors, you know which ones-education, healthcare and administration. With regard to the evaluations, I usually assess other, never tried to assess my job.”  

And more:  “I  can say that I do not see any key financial indicator which has worsened over the past year. I never made analysis of the positions in my professional career. So, I do not regret about handing resignation. To me the position of a Prime Minister means huge responsibility and honor.

The ruling parties BSP and MRF united around the positive assessment of Oresharski cabinet. However, they accused one another about the early end of the cabinet’s mandate. The chairperson of the Coalition for Bulgaria Atanas Merdzhanov accused GERB and the coalition partner MRF about the cabinet’s failure to continue functioning, because at the end of the day the Movement for Rights and Freedoms removed their confidence in the cabinet one Thursday, says Merdzhanov and add:

“The Parliament is gone not because it was unable to function, but because the biggest parliamentary party GERB did not want this National Assembly to work. GERB merely refused to behave as an opposition. They often acted as a sabotage group, which, to the order of their eternal leader was coming in, going out, shouting and keeping silence. They were usually making personal attacks, instead of making political ones. Let us not forget that their leader Borissov was calling Premier Oresharski a pseudo expert and the ministers-postmen. He declared wars and wanted revenge. This Parliament and this cabinet could have worked much longer, provided their horizon was not shortened by one of the parties supporting the government. The National Assembly is not dissolved in advance, because of the abovementioned reasons, because it did not make any fatal mistakes”, Merdzhanov further said.

The leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms Lutvi Mestan responded to the “friendly fire”:

“I can not accept estimates pointing to catastrophe or collapse, because I see someone’s ambition to win a political advantage during the election campaign. We need to look forward. For the purpose, we must learn the lessons of the past. We need respect the vote of the Bulgarians and find the right formula of government. Bulgaria needs a change. The people did not give us a credit of confidence at the last elections. I am not talking about the MRF, but about the cabinet as a whole. This is not the only reason that made this cabinet resign. I must say that this cabinet is not finished due to the press conference of the MRF that Thursday. The party made something else back then- I told all, who got tired to speak for one whole year that this party had too much power, that the MRF is a party which does not view authority as an end in itself. We can deprive ourselves from authority in the name of our values, but we would not sacrifice our values for the sake of the authority.”

GERB leader Boyko Borissov said that the resignation of the cabinet was too late and that if his party wins the forthcoming early elections, he would become the Premier of this country, unlike the BSP leader Sergey Stanishev, because he knew how to take responsibility.  

“As you can all see, they agonized a lot during these few hours. When you listen to them speaking, you think everything is perfect. However, I could not understand why they lose on elections and hand in resignations. The financial gaps in all spheres are huge-billions of Euro need to be spent in the next months in order to fill the gaps in all systems, from pension funds to payments of subsidies. I call this an enormous crisis. All politicians should respect the word of the sovereign. One year ago GERB won convincingly at the elections. However, the other parties at the National Assembly refused to respect our victory and made an impossible and disastrous coalition. Iliketoleranceandconsensus. However, we should recall what other parties did over the past year. That is why the citizens punished them on the elections for European Parliament.”

The political parties would not attempt to make a new cabinet within this Parliament 

When the National Assembly voted the resignation of the cabinet, President Rossen Plevneliev started consultations with the political parties represented at the National Assembly. For the purpose, the head of state, in line with the country’s constitution hands in a new mandate to three political parties to make a second attempt to form a cabinet. “I am acting quickly and decisively, because the parties and the citizens want so”, President Plevneliev said and regretted the absence of Ataka party which refused to arrive for the consultations. The biggest party GERB refused the right to form a cabinet and returned the mandate immediately.

“The political parties represented at the National Assembly which took part at the consultations declared that it is impossible to form a stable majority and appoint a working government within the current Parliament. All democratic states which find themselves in similar situation hold elections. The date of the early Parliamentary elections is clear-October 5. It was negotiated by all political parties at the Consultative Council on National Security.”

The dynamics of the political Thursday continue with the procedure regarding the exploratory mandate handed to the second and the third biggest parties the BSP and the MRF. Friday afternoon the BSP returned the mandate to the head of state. The procedure continues with MRF. If things go this way, President Plevneliev can announce the new interim cabinet (which will be the second interim cabinet within Plevneliev’s mandate) on Tuesday.

It became clear on Thursday that the Movement for Rights and Freedoms also supports the candidature of Kristalina Georgieva to become again Bulgaria’s EU Commissioner and this should be so, if she stands a chance to become the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov