Status: 02.08.2022 2:04 p.m
In Bulgaria, President Radev has installed an interim government made up of experts. This should lead the country until the election of a new regular government in October – with clear orders.
After the fall of the pro-Western government in Bulgaria at the end of June, President Rumen Radev installed an interim cabinet of experts. She is to rule the EU country until a regular government is formed.
New parliament to be elected in October
Head of state Radew not only installed a cabinet of experts – he also dissolved parliament after less than a year. The citizens of Bulgaria are then supposed to vote for a new one in early parliamentary elections on October 2nd. This is the fourth time that there has been a new People’s Assembly in Bulgaria since April 2021.
The previous liberal-socialist coalition led by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov was overthrown after just over six months by a vote of no confidence. Three attempts to form a new government without a new election then failed. Thousands of people took to the streets in Bulgaria.
Transitional government with a clear mandate
The interim head of government of the poorest EU country is now Galeb Donev. He has been Minister of Social Affairs in Bulgaria on several occasions. Donev is considered a confidant of President Radew and Colonel a. D. Dimitar Stoyanov, who has now become interim Minister of Defense of the NATO country. The new foreign minister was Bulgaria’s previous ambassador in Paris, Nikolai Milkow.
Head of state Radev named the priorities of the interim cabinet: securing energy and food supplies, dealing with “raging inflation” and fighting corruption.
Bulgaria is also experiencing the threat of a gas crisis
The EU country, which is heavily dependent on Russian energy sources, no longer receives gas directly from Russia. The background is that ex-Prime Minister Petkov refused to pay the bill for the gas in Russian rubles. The NATO country’s relations with Russia were also strained by the expulsion of 70 diplomats and employees of the Russian embassy on suspicion of espionage.
With regard to the Ukraine war, the head of state, who is considered pro-Russia, warned the interim government: “Your top priority should be to avoid the country becoming involved in the conflict.”