Expectedly, Monday’s papers are all about yesterday’s early elections. Dnevnik sums up that “GERB won the early elections for parliament, but lost its staunchest coalition partner in a possible future cabinet – the Reformist Bloc,” which did not clear the 4 percent threshold for entering parliament. The newspaper notes, however, that the votes from abroad have not been counted yet and surprises are not to be ruled out, adding that this is the reason why the political forces themselves are being inordinately cautious and are refusing comment as to their future actions.

Sega newspaper comments that “GERB won a narrow victory that won’t last long, the Bulgarian Socialist Party frittered away its impetus from the presidential elections and the next cabinet will consist of no less than three parties.” The paper adds that Sunday’s early parliamentary elections turned out to be the most unpredictable of all in the entire post-communist history of Bulgaria and that, in practical terms, they will change nothing. To be able to form a cabinet, GERB will need the help of the United Patriots and Volya, or the Reformist Bloc, if it does manage to squeeze into parliament, and that means that the next government will be practically the same as the Borissov 2 cabinet. The Bulgarian Socialist Party will find itself in the same position if GERB fails to form a cabinet and if socialist leader Kornelia Ninova keeps her word not to form coalitions with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) or GERB.

Political analyst Purvan Simeonov comments for the 24 Chassa that GERB and the BSP “ingested votes and sank the small parties” and failing to attain the desired results, the United Patriots coalition and Volya failed to turn the private lives of their leaders into party lives. Again in the 24 Chassa poltical analyst Dimitar Ganev notes that for the first time in Bulgaria’s most modern history a party that has ceded power (GERB) wins more votes at the next elections. In his words, another parliamentary election is not likely, because GERB will want it to be a majority vote which will place it in a strong position, the Bulgarian Socialist Party is skeptical of such a prospect, whereas for the small parties it will be a game changer.

Compiled by: Stoimen Pavlov

English version: Milena Daynova