RB's Radan Kanev, GERB Negotiators Hold Unexpected Meeting

A surprising meeting was held Tuesday evening between Radan Kanev, co-Chairman of the Reformist Bloc, and members of GERB party's team tasked to carry out government consultations, sources say.

Kanev met Rumyana Bachvarova and Tomislav Donchev, both being key officials of Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) in the room which GERB, Bulgaria's largest party, currently has at disposal in the National Assembly, private national channel bTV reports.

The meeting comes amid tensions between GERB and the RB following the latter's declaration they could not accept the offer of GERB leader Boyko Borisov to join a minority coalition and would prefer a stable majority with the participation of the nationalist alliance called Patriotic Front instead.

Tuesday's meeting of all parties in Parliament (except for ultra-nationalist Ataka, which did not attend) resulted in what many of the leaders described as an agreement to back any GERB-led government, including one with the right-wing RB.

However, Radan Kanev and Meglena Kuneva, who head the two biggest parties within the alliance, insist the PF should enter the coalition as agreed under previous, albeit informal, arrangements.

PF co-Chair Valeri Simeonov for his part maintains nationalists cannot send politicians to the next cabinet, but would propose names of experts if GERB approves the idea.

The PF believes the new Bulgarian government should be composed of experts and not political figures, but other parties generally disagree.

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