Bulgaria PM Supports Coalition between GERB, Reformist Bloc, Patriotic Front

Bulgaria should have either a center-right alliance or a grand coalition, interim Prime Minister Georgi Bliznashki believes.

The distribution of MP seats in the National Assembly makes a prospective coalition between election winner Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), the Reformist Bloc (fourth-largest after the early vote on October 5) and the Patriotic Front, which came sixth, the "most natural" option, Bliznashki told Bulgaria On Air TV station.

"If his option does not yield any result, [the second one] is a grand coalition, which we have been so much hinted from outside," he added.

He dismissed as "depleted" any scenarios of an expert or program government, describing them as a stage through which Bulgaria "has already gone", referring to the tenure of former Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski.

Bliznashki's comments come just a day before GERB starts government consultations with other parties at the National Assembly on Monday.

Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), which lagged far behind the conservatives, warned they did not intend to "negotiate" but would simply unveil their vision of governance for the next few years.

GERB leader Boyko Borisov, also tipped to become Bulgaria's next Prime Minister (though not officially proposed) downplayed earlier this week any prospects of forging a grand coalition between socialists and conservatives, since the former's 39 MPs and the latter's 84 seats were not enough to have a clear majority.

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