Rightist Leader: Shaky Bulgarian Cabinet Depends on 'Political Nomads'

Rightist Blue Coalition MPs Ivan Kostov (L), Asen Agov (C) and Martin Dimitrov (R). Photo by BGNES

Trust in PM Boyko Borisov's center-right GERB cabinet is record-low, according to erstwhile ally, rightist Blue Coalition co-leader and former Bulgarian PM Ivan Kostov.

Sunday in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio Kostov commented the no-confidence vote in Parliament June 17, which the Borisov cabinet survived with 124 MPs out of 240 against.

Kostov's Blue Coalition chose to walk out of the debate and vote and thus effectively voted as abstaining, following increased criticism of the government's work.

On the other hand, the Blues did not want to second the vote tabled by their arch-rivals, the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms.

Sunday Kostov was unusually kind to the position of the Socialists, aggreeing with their concerns about the funding of GERB, including bonuses allegedly received by MPs out of the state subsidy for the political party.

The rightist leader further elaborated on what he saw as the problematic support of the Borisov cabinet by non-aligned MPs, some of them defectors from nationalists Ataka and Order, Law and Justice.

"Never before in recent Bulgarian history have political nomads determined the majority in Parliament. Now we have to ask ourselves how did we get to that situation," commented Kostov.

According to him, what is happening in Parliament is not a genuine political support on the part of independent MPs for the cabinet, but rather a murky financing of their votes by means of GERB funds.

GERB has a large minority of 117 MPs out of 240 total in the Bulgarian Parliament.

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