GERB Starts Closed-Door Meeting to Discuss Gov't Options

GERB leader Boyko Borisov as he is heading to his party's meeting on October 20, 2014. Photo by BGNES

A session of conservative GERB party's officials is being held behind closed doors in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Monday.

Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB)'s leadership, mayors, municipal councilors, MEPs and MP-elects are discussing results of the consultations their party held with the other seven political entities that made it in Parliament following the snap elections on October 5.

Each day of the past week saw meetings of GERB with other parties. An outright agreement on government cooperation was reached only with the Patriotic Front (PF), a nationalist coalition.

Right-wing Reformist Bloc (RB), widely tipped as GERB's "most natural" partner in government, held seven-hour-long talks with the election winners, but failed to shake hands.

GERB nevertheless made clear it could give Reformists a second chance to negotiate.

President (2002-2012) Georgi Parvanov's ABV, or Alternative for Bulgarian Revival, surprisingly reached an agreement as well, but the two parties are expected to hold a second meeting only at an expert level.

GERB has ruled out any alliance with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), the third political force dominated by ethnic Turks and has explicitly denied it would count on its support to form any kind of government. Any joint government action with former journalist Nikolay Barekov's Bulgaria without Censorship has also been declared out of the question.

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) had earlier vowed to remain in opposition in the next cabinet, and subsequently failed to agree with GERB on most of its policy proposals.

The meeting of conservatives with ultra-nationalists Ataka was called off after the latter insisted talks in Parliament should be aired live, even though negotiations with all other parties had taken place behind closed doors.