Bulgaria's Junior Gov't Ally to Decide on Support for Cabinet Next Week

Radan Kanev, co-chair of the Reformit Bloc, has warned a decision on whether or not to support the government is a matter of days. Photo: BGNES

The Reformist Bloc (RB), the junior coalition partner in Bulgaria's minority government, is set to announce on Tuesday whether or not to go on supporting the cabinet, a RB co-chair has said.

"We will take a unified decision on the situation that was created. Thence [we will deal with] the next steps on [appointments], whatever these are," Nayden Zelengorski, who is also Deputy Chairman of the Bulgaria for Citizens Movement (DBG), explained on Friday.

The RB is a loose coalition of right-wing parties where the DBG of Deputy PM Meglena Kuneva, the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) of MP Radan Kanev, and the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) of Economy Minister Bozhidar Lukarski often come up with diverging opinions.

On Wednesday, after Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov stepped down over what he describes as a failure of the judicial reform (one he proposed but was passed by Parliament with alterations), Kanev announced he was withdrawing his support for the government and was to become an opposition MP.

The RB's press office later produced a statement reading that his position represented only his personal views.

Kanev was one of the staunchest supporters of the judicial reform, while Ivanov was appointed Justice Minister from the "quota" of RB in November of last year.

Zelenogorski, however, on Friday warned that if Ivanov had represented GERB or the RB is yet to be "established".

Kanev meanwhile told the Bulgarian National Television that his DSB party would announce on Sunday whether it will keep Health Minister Petar Moskov in the government.

He accused the main ruling GERB party of PM Boyko Borisov of co-governing with left-wing ABV (which has a minister in the cabinet) and liberal Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party which is in opposition, rather than with the RB itself.

Commenting on his words, the DPS's chairperson Lyutvi Mestan warned the country might be sliding toward early election if tensions in the coalition continue to build up.

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