Ohb Bulgaria, the poorest member of the European Union, will soon have a new government. This is uncertain, but it seems to be certain: long-term prime minister Boyko Borisov May no longer rule Sofia. In Sunday’s parliamentary elections, the former bodyguard and debt collection company owner may have successfully won for the sixth time in a row more votes than his party “Bulgarian European Development Citizens” (Gerb) all competing camps. At least preliminary, unfinished results indicate this. But this is of little use to Borisov.
There are two reasons for this: First, if Gerb’s lead should be confirmed, it is only meager and it is also evidence of a steady downward trend. Starting with 33% of the vote in 2017, the party reached 23.9% on Sunday. According to some mid-term results, the almost opaque party “There are people like this” led by performance guru and Balkan pop singer Slavi Trifonow is almost equal to the approval rating, close to 23.7, even ahead of Gerb. Secondly-and more importantly-no one wants to form an alliance with Borisov. This was the case after the parliamentary elections in April, when Gerb received about 26% of the vote but was unable to form a government due to lack of partners. Of course, the opposition did not succeed, which is why the second parliamentary election must be held within a few months. Once again, the results show that alliance negotiations, to put it mildly, will be challenging. Because Trifonov’s party was established in April and immediately became the second most powerful force with its partially radical populist plan. It is best known for what it does not want: under no circumstances will it compete with Bory. Sov or the Bulgarian Socialist Party are in power together. This is the third strongest force on Sunday, despite being the worst result in its history (13.6%).
The reluctance to rule with Geb and the socialists is understandable, because more and more voters, especially young voters, think that the two parties are the epitome of corruption and the day before yesterday. But in the future parliament, only representatives of two smaller reform parties will participate, and Trifonov does not rule out the possibility of alliance with them. Even if they find each other, this will not be enough for the government to have a majority. It is not yet certain whether a small number of governments can be the solution. Socialist leader Kornelija Ninova has made it clear that supporting her party will have to pay some price.
One motivation for not allowing alliance negotiations to collapse again may be the prospect of the post-pandemic reconstruction fund paying billions of dollars, as “there is such a person” in April. I lie. However, the new party and its chairman, which communicate with fans almost exclusively through Facebook, are extremely difficult to assess. Ulf Brunnbauer, a historian and national expert, said: “No one can say exactly what this camp wants because the party leaders refused to participate in the debate during the campaign.” “But, this way. It’s difficult to solve Bulgaria’s profound problems with its anti-politics.
At the same time, Gerb seems to have accepted the fact that after years of bumper harvests, it is now heading towards the opposition. The statements of the main party members showed this, although Borisov himself initially kept a low profile. In any case, the party did not completely withdraw from the game because it continues to control the capital Sofia and many other cities. But in the future it will no longer be able to allocate national posts and EU funds, which makes it less attractive. However, in Borisov’s party, many people hope that “someone like this” will soon become an unprofessional liar, and Geb will pave the way for regaining power. The disappointment with the new power is actually not surprising. However, this does not necessarily mean that it will help Borisov return to the office of the head of government after a brief forced break.
Another possibility is to hold parliamentary elections again, which is the third time this year. However, this would be the worst solution for Bulgarian democracy. Already on Sunday, only 40% of those eligible to vote have asked to vote. Political scientist Dimitar Bechev stated that this was the lowest turnout rate since Bulgaria’s first parliament was elected in 1879.
