Resignation of Bulgaria IntMin Vuchkov Prompts Mixed Reactions

Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has called the decision of Interior Minister Veselin Vuchkov to resign on Wednesday "unexpected".

Commenting after a cabinet meeting where Vuchkov surprisingly stepped down, she declined to name a potential successor to Vuchkov, reminding this could only be in line with the "quota" principle according to which Bulgaria's government was composed last year.

Most minister seats belong to the senior coalition partner, conservative GERB, and the remainder go to the Reformist Bloc, and one has been allocated to left-wing Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV). Bachvarova's comment suggests that GERB will  produce the next Interior Minister as well.

Reactions were not late on the sidelines of Parliament, where opposition MPs interpreted the development as a negative sign.

According to Atanas Merdzhanov, a lawmaker from the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Vuchkov's move is a sign of the "extreme instability of Boyko Borisov's government". In his words, it is evidence of "many unsolved problems" in the governing coalition, though he urged reporters to wait for Vuchkov to personally make his motives clear.

Krasimir Karakachanov, the co-Chair of Patriotic Front (PF), a party supporting the minority coalition whose backing was crucial for the government to be formed, said he believed the development was related to his insistence on "personal changes" within the ministry.

However Deputy PM Meglena Kuneva dismissed this. Speaking from the rostrum, Kuneva, who coordinates activities at the Interior Ministry and several other institutions, stressed Vuchkov's move was "personal".

She also made clear "no jolts" will be allowed in security and internal affairs following the resignation.

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