Kiril Petkov

"This time we will have 121 deputies. People felt that in these 7 months we made a very good first step. Yes, the absolute change will take more than 7 months, but the first steps are a fact. A real change happened at Kapitan Andreevo and we stopped pesticides from entering the kitchen of Bulgarians.

"All possible sources of gas supplies are on the table, including Gazprom, but they are the last option". This was stated by Energy Minister Rosen Hristov on BNT.

"We haven't started reaching out to them yet because we're looking to exhaust all possible options. It's a last resort, but we haven't taken them off the options list."

"Liquefied gas from the United States is the best option for Bulgaria". Former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said this on Nova TV. According to him, he negotiated personally with the suppliers, without intermediaries.

Workers at the construction site of the interconnected IGB gas transmission pipeline, starting at Komotini, Greece and ending at Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, March 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/DIMITRIS TOSIDIS.

Issues have arisen over the certification of the project, which prompted interim Energy Minister Rosen Hristov, who is yet to publicly comment on the matter, to block the process. 

Instability Ahead

In the Council of Ministers, representatives of the health authorities reported to the resigned Prime Minister Kiril Petkov information about the spread of Covid-19 and the planned measures to control the situation.

GERB and "We Continue the Change" are approaching positions, the difference between them being less than 1 percent. They would get 22.2 percent and 21.5 percent of the votes, respectively, if the elections were held today.

"There should be peace, understanding and tolerance. The election is only one day away. Elections pass, but we continue to live together. Partners are found in life, in the field, during elections." This was stated by former Prime Minister and current leader of GERB, Boyko Borissov.

Borissov commented on whether he would support an expert government.

At 5:00 p.m., President Rumen Radev will receive the candidate for Prime Minister, nominated by the largest parliamentary group in the 47th National Assembly, Asen Vassilev, to whom, according to the constitutional procedure, he handed over the first exploratory mandate to form a government within the current parliament.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov arrives for the European Council Summit in Brussels, Belgium, 24 March 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/JULIEN WARNAND

"We can't find 121 MPs who are not afraid", Petkov told the media, referring to the number needed for a majority in parliament, and the influence that criminal structures allegedly have on parliament.