World agencies comment on appointment of new Bulgarian government.
Bulgaria's parliament approved a new cabinet today, headed by Rosen Zhelyazkov, a former speaker of parliament, ending months of negotiations to form a coalition government, Reuters reports.
The center-right GERB party won early elections in October. It was the seventh vote for parliament in the past four years. In order to form a government, GERB had to conduct difficult coalition negotiations for two months.
Zhelyazkov, who was nominated by the largest group in parliament, GERB-SDF, yesterday received a mandate from President Rumen Radev to form a government. About 125 lawmakers in the 240-member legislature approved proposals from Zhelyazkov's cabinet on Tuesday, paving the way for the new government to take office, Reuters reported.
The NATO member state needs political stability to speed up the absorption of EU funds in its infrastructure in need of renovation and move closer to adopting the euro, the agency said.
The Associated Press notes that the GERB party has chosen Zhelyazkov as prime minister, replacing its leader Boyko Borisov, who led three governments between 2009 and 2021. "The new ruling coalition does not have enough deputies to have a majority in parliament. However, the cabinet was approved in a separate vote thanks to the support of a small ethnic Turkish party that is not part of the coalition, "the AP adds.
"Since mass protests against corruption forced Borisov to resign in 2021, seven early votes have been held in the poor Balkan country," writes Agence France-Presse. "Borisov's conservative GERB party came first in the last election in October, and yesterday announced that it had managed to reach an agreement with the socialists and a right-wing party to form a government with the support of a faction of the Turkish minority," the agency continues. "GERB secured the deal after 65-year-old Borisov dropped his initial bid to become prime minister for a fourth term and instead nominated former parliament speaker Rosen Zhelyazkov as prime minister," AFP also wrote.
"Sofia secured its long-awaited full membership of the Schengen visa-free travel zone from January 1, but still needs to guarantee price stability to apply to join the eurozone from 2026," AFP commented. Modernizing the army and improving judicial procedures are also among the new government's priorities, the French news agency noted.
Analysts doubt the coalition can last. "This will be a difficult government, in practice it is a four-party coalition, it cannot be easy, but it is better than going from one election to another", political analyst Daniel Smilov of the Center for Liberal Strategies told AFP. "In the most optimistic scenario, it will take about a year to complete some urgent tasks such as the country's accession to the eurozone, securing EU funds for sustainability and recovery and adopting this year's budget," Smilov added.
Agence France-Presse also quoted Parvan Simeonov of the "Myara" sociological agency, who called the new government "a cabinet of survival, willy-nilly". "After four years of political crisis in Bulgaria, a government simply had to be formed," he noted, but added that this did not mean that the political crisis was over.
The German news agency DPA writes that "an unusual coalition government uniting pro-Western, pro-Russian and populist forces" has been formed in Bulgaria. "Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov defended the coalition, stressing the urgent need for Bulgaria to emerge from the prolonged political crisis. In addition, the support of a party representing Bulgaria's ethnic Turks was also obtained to ensure an effective majority in parliament," DPA notes.
After going through seven parliamentary elections in just three and a half years, Bulgaria, which is a member of the EU, faces urgent challenges, the German news agency predicts. The new government's main priorities include adopting a balanced state budget for 2025, accelerating the country's transition to the euro and accelerating the absorption of funds from the EU recovery plan. Strengthening the rule of law and increasing energy security are also key goals, DPA summarizes.