Bulgaria Thrown Into Fresh Political Turmoil As Snap Elections Loom

Bulgaria is heading for its sixth election in three years after a planned government reshuffle failed this month

Sofia, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Mar, 2024) Bulgaria is heading for its sixth election in three years after a planned government reshuffle failed this month.

The latest turmoil comes just nine months after the Balkan country's two largest political parties formed a power-sharing government designed to end two years of political deadlock.

The plan to rotate cabinet positions was mapped out by the two parties -- the centre-right GERB and the liberal PP-DB -- when they formed a pro-European government in June 2023.

As part of the reshuffle, Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel from the GERB was expected this month to swap posts with Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov of the PP-DB.

But disagreements over judicial reforms and the share-out of posts in the new government caused negotiations to break down.

President Rumen Radev is expected next week to announce the date of the snap general election, on our around the date of European Parliament polls on June 9.

"We are the world champions of elections," said political scientist Teodor Slavev, as the country faces its sixth in three years.

Bulgaria, a member of both the European Union and NATO, has close historical and cultural ties to Russia.

Relations have been strained since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

However, "Russian influence remains strong and Moscow has an interest in instability," Slavev told AFP.

- Central 'skilful politician' -

At the centre of the latest crisis is former premier Boyko Borisov, who dominated political life in Bulgaria for almost a decade before being forced out following massive anti-corruption protests in 2020.

While a return to power is unlikely, analysts say Borisov will continue to wield considerable political clout.

He is still leader of the powerful GERB, which has established a solid grassroots base.

"He is a very skilful politician with an acute political instinct," said Dobromir Zhivkov, director of the Market Links institute.

During the recent reshuffle negotiations, Borisov, a former bodyguard, sought to secure key posts in the incoming government for the GERB and "hinder (government) reforms", particularly in the justice and intelligence services, Zhivkov said.

One of the challenges for the future government will be to choose a new public prosecutor to replace his ousted predecessor.

According to experts, Borisov is aiming to preserve the status quo while hampering reforms and investigations into endemic corruption, with the help of lawmaker Delyan Peevski.

Britain and the United States have imposed sanctions on Peevski, a former media magnate, over allegations of graft.

"It was mainly this disagreement over judicial reforms that scuppered the (reshuffle) negotiations," said Slavev.

- Anti-graft protests -

Widespread anti-corruption protests that rocked Bulgaria four years ago raised hopes of political change but in the end there was "no revolution", said analyst Zhivkov.

The reformist We Continue the Change (PP) -- which joined forces with Democratic Bulgaria (DB) before the last general election in April 2023 -- has failed to maintain the momentum that had temporarily propelled the party into power in 2022.

"There have been only slow and painful changes while we wait for new political leaders to emerge," he added.

In the meantime, droves of Bulgarians are emigrating westwards due to a lack of prospects in their own country -- the poorest in the 27-nation European Union.

The hopes of those who stay have been dashed.

On Sunday, Bulgaria and Romania will partially join Europe's Schengen zone, opening up travel by air and sea with other nations in the zone.

The latest political crisis could further delay full accession to the zone, which would eliminate land border controls as well.

The turmoil could also derail Bulgaria's ambition to adopt the euro as its Currency next year, an objective that analysts think no longer appears realistic.