Bulgaria: GERB-UDF Ready for Caretaker Government, to Be in Opposition and to Govern

President Rumen Radev is holding consultations on Monday with representatives of the six parliamentary groups in the 45th National Assembly ahead of handing the first exploratory government-forming mandate.

Meeting with the biggest parliamentary group, GERB-UDF, Radev said that operational and responsible actions on the formation of a government were needed. In his words, the complicated security environment, the pandemic, the economic and social crisis, and the timely submission of an effective national recovery and resilience plan require responsibility and operational governance. At the same time, the government has tendered its resignation and the outgoing Prime Minister is on leave, when in accordance with the Constitution, the responsibility for governing Bulgaria rests on this government until the Prime Minister and the ministers hand the keys to their offices to the next government, Radev argued.

The GERB-UDF parliamentary group was represented at the meeting by Floor Leader Dessislava Atanassova, outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev and Daniel Mitov, whom the group will nominate for prime minister.

Atanassova said that GERB-UDF are ready both to be in opposition and to govern the country, as well as for a caretaker government. "We have been in such a situation before and, contrary to what we hear someone is trying to convince the Bulgarian people, we are not afraid of probes or revisions or a caretaker government. We are also ready for early parliamentary elections," she stressed.

She also said that GERB-UDF expected more than just a demonstration of force in the 45th National Assembly, because it was obvious that despite being the biggest one, their parliamentary group would be in opposition.

According to her...