Bulgaria's Socialists Relentless in Effort to Form Govt

Plamen Oresharski (l) and BSP leader, Sergey Stanishev after receiving the mandate to form a Cabinet, photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, is holding Saturday negotiations with the ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, for the forming of the new Cabinet.

Meetings with the far-right nationalist parties Ataka and VMRO and the right-wing Bulgaria for Citizens of former EU Commissioner, Meglena Kuneva, are also scheduled.

At the May 12 early general elections, BSP, DPS, and Ataka overcame the 4% threshold to win parliamentary seats. The fourth party that made its way to the Parliament was the formerly-ruling centrist GERB, which won narrowly and was not able to form a Cabinet as the other three declared they would not offer support.

The names of the members of the new government are expected to be announced Tuesday after BSP and its nomination for Prime Minister, Plamen Oresharski, received last Thursday the mandate from the President.

DPS have not yet announced their nominations, but it is expected they will want the Ministries of Environment, Education and/or Agriculture.

According to unofficial information of bTV, the Socialists are going to nominate Kiril Ananiev for Finance Minister, Petar Chobanov – for Minister of Economy, Yanaki Stoilov – for Minister without Portfolio, Dragomir Stoynev – for Minister of Labor and Social Policy, and former Olympic Wrestling Champion, Georgi Murkov – for Minister of Sports.

Oresharski is also said to be planning to give the energy sector its own Ministry, as until now Bulgaria had a Ministry of Economy and Energy. The most likely nomination for Minister of Energy is Yavor Kuyumdziev, former Deputy Economy and Energy Minister in the Three-Way Coalition Cabinet.

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