Bulgaria will hold general elections at the end of March after none of the parties in the current parliament formed after the October general elections could form a new ruling coalition.
The third and final mandate given by President Rumen Radev to the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) to form a government failed on 20 January.
The next most likely date (for the 5th time in 2 years) is March 26th or April 2nd.
As a final step before calling for a vote, Radev summoned leaders of all parliamentary parties to a meeting on 20 January to discuss whether they could form a majority.
In addition to the BSP, only three political parties accepted the invitation: the Gelb, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), and the Bulgarian Ascend.
Four-party coalition planned
The four parties decided not to form a coalition at this parliament, but agreed that they could form a ruling coalition at the next parliament.
Despite their vastly different political orientations, the four parties were widely expected to join forces at some point after working together to support a return to paper ballots. That is why they were even called the “Paper Union”.
However, when the four parties form a coalition government, they form a program government with specific tasks.
The coalition on the agenda drew criticism from reformist parties in the current parliament, the Change Continues and Democratic Bulgaria.
“Today the Gerb, BSP and DPS promised to work together to form a government, so why hold the next election? Why won’t they do it now?” Nikolai Denkov comments.
Assen Vasilev, co-leader of Change Continues, said the country will return to the past if Gelb, DPS, BSP and Bulgarian Ascend join forces in the future.
Democratic Bulgaria co-leader Hristo Ivanov also said four parties would set the country back.
For her part, BSP leader Cornelia Ninova criticized Change Continues and Democratic Bulgaria for refusing to attend a meeting with Radev. She blamed them for the failure of the third mission.
Plans for the Reformed Coalition
Meanwhile, Change Continues and Democratic Bulgaria are in talks to run together in the next general election. That coalition could also include Save Sofia and other reformist organizations not currently represented in Congress.
Ivanov proposed a similar coalition before the October 2 vote, but at the time Change Continues operated alone and decided to join forces with Democratic Bulgaria after the election.
Although the two organizations have many similar priorities, Democratic Bulgaria positions itself as a right-wing organisation, while Change Continues focuses more on social spending and reforms, advocating a “right He said he would like to take action.
After the failure of a previous mandate, Mr Radev said he would maintain an interim government headed by Prime Minister Gurb Dnev, accusing political parties in parliament of being unwilling to take responsibility for the country’s crisis.
