With a rotation of power due, what do people and politicians expect?

published on 3/6/24 1:00 PM

Photo: BTA

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov has resigned, describing his action as "keeping one's word, an expression of continuity, political fair play and respect for citizens".

He recalled the parameters of the agreement between the two political coalitions, GERB-SDS and We Continue to Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB), to form the Council of Ministers nine months ago.

The idea of this agreement between the two leading parliamentary forces, GERB-SDS and PP-DB, which Denkov represents, was to break the political deadlock. The country had held five early elections, none of which had produced a stable government, and the current situation - a highly fragmented National Assembly, in which no single political entity had the necessary majority to take sole responsibility for running the country - was far from rosy.

As agreed, a government was formed in which the Prime Minister was nominated by the PP-DB and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mariya Gabriel, by the leading parliamentary force, GERB-SDS. The arrangement was "exotic" for Bulgarian political reality: after nine months, the ministers were to report on their activities, and Foreign Minister and former European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel was to "rotate" with Prime Minister Denkov and take over the prime minister's functions.

According to a recent poll by Alpha Research, 40% of Bulgarians believe that the best thing that could happen to the government in the near future is a rotation between Acad. Nikolai Denkov and Maria Gabriel. This is the result of a poll conducted between February 27 and March 3 among 1,000 adult citizens across the country.

52.9% of respondents gave a negative assessment of the government's overall performance. Maria Gabriel's approval rating (34.7%) is higher than that of Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov (23.6%).

27% of Bulgarians think it would be better to hold early parliamentary elections together with the European elections in June. However, negotiations are currently underway on how to implement the rotation, i.e. to extend the rule of GERB-SDS and PP-DB. Against this background, GERB's national conference voted in favour of a written agreement as a step towards constructive dialogue.

Outgoing Prime Minister Denkov said today from the rostrum of Parliament that "despite the fact that dialogue between the parties in this government has been blown up and stalled more than once, so far all points have been implemented except one - the creation of a mechanism for regulating regulatory bodies headed by people with the highest professional and moral qualities". It is precisely the appointment of regulators and new ministers that could strain relations in the negotiations and contribute to a further decline in confidence in Parliament, which is currently at a record low of 7%.

"Should the coalition agreement prioritize goals that are inward-focused and cater to specific social groups, regulators, and the judiciary, it has the potential to restore confidence in the National Assembly. Failure to do so risks a relapse into a crisis of confidence, a situation that will prove much more difficult to overcome," Boriana Dimitrova of the Alpha Research polling agency told BNR. In her words, we are currently in a paradoxical situation in which even supporters of the ruling political parties are not convinced that this government is worth continuing.

"GERB is an older, more experienced party, it has structures and political know-how, and at crucial moments, with the support of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), it gave the impression of dictating the rhythm and the situation. After 4-5 unsuccessful attempts to form a government and a spiral of caretaker cabinets, a parliamentary way out of the crisis had to be found.

The PP-DB did not want to be called a coalition, as they wanted to position themselves as a political force in their own right, but they did want to come in to implement the goals they had set themselves. They need to be more effective and show results, otherwise the impression of a suffocating embrace will remain. Despite the marginal difference of 4-5 MPs compared to GERB, their proactive approach conveyed a sense of commitment and duty," Dimitrova said.

Text by Elena Karkalanova, based on an interview by Ilia Valkov, BNR-Horizont

Photos: BTA

Translated and posted by Elizabeth Radkova

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