Bulgaria May Head to New Election as Coalition Deal Fails

Slav Okov
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Bulgaria lurched toward a potential snap election — the sixth in just over three years — after the country’s two main political parties failed to renew a unity government forged to overcome political turmoil.

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The turbulence threatens to further delay Bulgaria’s long-postponed goal to adopt the euro next year and may hinder much-needed military aid to Ukraine, with pro-Russia and nationalist forces on the rise. With no party controlling a majority in parliament, a national vote could be held as early as June.

Mariya Gabriel, a former European Union commissioner and a premier-designate of the country’s biggest party, Gerb, scrapped an attempt to form a cabinet. Her decision was backed in a parliamentary vote Tuesday by Gerb’s coalition partner over the past nine months, We Continue the Change.

The two rival factions, led by former premiers Boyko Borissov and Kiril Petkov, respectively, formed a joint government last June to end years of political squabbling that hindered euro ambitions, delayed EU funding and left power in the hands of a president reluctant to provide aid to Ukraine.

Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov, who ran the coalition cabinet until March 5, stepped down to make way for Gabriel as part of the power-sharing agreement. But infighting over administrative positions and delayed reforms threw the parties into a new round of coalition talks that eventually failed.

Borissov was ousted from power in 2021 amid anti-corruption protests. His departure gave way to a string of fragile coalitions and interim cabinets as Bulgarians repeatedly returned to the ballot box.

Petkov will now get the chance to form a new cabinet, but without Borissov’s support he doesn’t have sufficient backing. Another unsuccessful attempt will allow President Rumen Radev to pick a third faction for a last attempt before scheduling an early election.

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