Bulgaria’s two main political factions have agreed to a power-sharing deal in an effort to end a parliamentary deadlock that has paralyzed the EU nation for more than two years.
The country, which has endured persistent inflation, difficulties decoupling its energy grid from Russia and setbacks in the fight against corruption and organized crime, has held five elections since 2021.
All elections since the collapse of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s center-right government have ended inconclusively or short-lived, as his Gerb party continued to get more than a quarter of the vote but was unable to form a stable alliance.
On Monday night, Gerb and a centrist coalition led by his main political opponents We Continue Change and Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) agreed to form a government with a rotating prime minister.
Gerb, who won the last election on April 2, proposed former European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel as his candidate for prime minister to replace Borisov, whose rule ended amid corruption allegations, sparking huge protests.
Under the power-sharing agreement, PP-DB’s former education minister Nikolay Denkov will serve as prime minister, while Gabriel will serve as deputy minister and foreign minister. Gabriel will take over as prime minister in nine months, when the two sides will take turns leading the charge.
The deal must still be approved by its party’s MPs.
After the agreement was reached, Gabriel told reporters that Bulgaria needed a stable government “to emerge from the current political crisis” and “to meet all the requirements related to the country’s formal membership of the European Union, including Schengen and the euro zone”. Sofia is still waiting to join the Schengen area, Europe’s passport-free travel zone, and its eurozone membership has also been delayed.
Former Bulgarian justice minister Hristo Ivanov, leader of a party in the PP-DB bloc, said the coalition deal would bring “enormous economic and political benefits”.
“Access to the Schengen area and the euro zone is absolutely doable,” he said. “The EU has tens of billions of dollars at its disposal. We can transform the energy system, decouple from Russia and restart the green transition, build geopolitically critical North and South infrastructure, revitalize our powerful military industry, help Ukraine . But only if there is a stable government.”
PP-DB had promised its voters that it would never join a Gerb government. But according to Dimitar Bechev, a lecturer at Oxford University’s School of Global and Area Studies, the coalition has no good options: “If the PP-DB doesn’t get into this government, they might end up in the next election.” Seeing worse outcomes,” he said.
However, the coalition could be an uneasy one as both groups prepare for local elections in October.