Third Borisov Government

The election of the Speaker of the National Assembly is postponed until after Easter.

After yesterday's false start with the election of the chairman of the 49th National Assembly, today the deputies gathered again in the plenary hall in an attempt to repeat the election.

"The pro-European forces in Bulgaria must put the state above the party and work together to form a stable majority."

This was written by Manfred Weber - chairman of the group of the European People's Party (EPP), the parent party of GERB. Weber was a guest at the closing of the pre-election campaign of Boyko Borisov's formation.

"People should get out and vote. The only chance of having a convincing and transparent government is when we are first and by a large margin. More and more people are realizing the connection between their vote, being first and having a government. From now on I declare, yes, there will be a government if we are the first political party in the elections.

Tomorrow, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov will convene a Security Council of the Council of Ministers. Earlier, GERB said that they were submitting 59 signatures, while 48 were needed, with a request to convene an extraordinary session of the National Assembly on the issue and to hear out Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, Defense Minister Stefan Yanev and Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska.

The leader of 'We continue the change', Kiril Petkov greets fans before the first session of the parliament in Sofia, December 3, 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/VASSIL DONEV

The vote put an end to an almost year-long political logjam in Bulgaria, which now sees its biggest political shift in more than a decade.

The first of a series of meetings with parliamentary parties represented by President Rumen Radev began before the first investigative mandate to form a government was handed over. The first consultations are with representatives of "We Continue the Change". The President addressed them with the words.

Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev handed over the second mandate to form a government to GERB-UDF on August 20. GERB-UDF's Prime Minister-designate Daniel Mitov handed back the mandate.

President Rumen Radev handed over a mandate to form a government to the candidate for Prime Minister Daniel Mitov, nominated by the second-largest parliamentary group in the 46th National Assembly - GERB-SDS. Mitov immediately returned the mandate, as his party had stated prior to today's events.

Gerb leder and former PM Boyko Borissov speaking after the July elections in Sofia, Bulgaria, 12 July 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/VASSIL DONEV

However, hinting at its ambitions to form a government soon, despite returning the mandate to President Rumen Radev, GERB also announced a projected cabinet as a sign that it is ready to offer a new government at any time. 

If the word "interregnum" had to be explained with present-day examples in a European textbook, Bulgaria could well be used to describe what is essentially a (potentially dark) period between two regimes.