Bulgaria: Grigorov (political analyst) to SIR, “a change of route, for Borissov the time has expired”

“A change of route and a clear sign that Bulgarians want change, a very different picture from the results of the last decade”: this is the first off-the-cuff comment on the results of the political election in Bulgaria from Acen Grigorov, political analysts and director of the website “Boulevard Bulgaria”. In his opinion, “the Gerb party and its leader Borissov have been in a very weak position for the first time since its foundation”. “Gerb’s voters will soon start to withdraw their confidence – he states – because many of them are people who work in the civil service, people who work in companies that depend on public contracts and European funds. For Borissov, the time has expired”. “Three new political forces make their debut in Parliament – he adds – and half of the MPs are replaced; in addition, the traditional parties, that is, Gerb, socialists and the Turkish minority party that used to be the main political players so far, are no longer the key factors now”. Grigorov points to the fact that, “for the first time in 16 years, the nationalists will have no representatives in the new parliament” and “the vote of Bulgarians living abroad who went to the polls in huge numbers was another important factor too”. According to Bulgaria’s Constitution, the president of the Republic grants the power to form a government to the first political forces that must give it back if it fails to set up a new government. “It will be very difficult, almost impossible, for Borissov to form a coalition with one of the parties in Parliament and become prime minister for the fourth time. This explains his statements about ‘giving a helping hand’ and ‘a government of experts”.
Valentina Bombelli