Vasilev officially returns the presidential mandate and a new attempt to form a government in Bulgaria fails

July 8. () –

The Prime Minister in charge of forming the Government in Bulgaria, Asen Vasilev, officially returned this Friday to the country’s President, Rumen Radev, the mandate that was given to him a week ago.

In this way, as the interim prime minister, Kiril Petkov, had anticipated, Bulgaria has once again failed in the umpteenth effort to form a new Cabinet.

Vasilev had been nominated by the largest parliamentary group in the National Assembly in charge of gathering the necessary support to form a new Executive after the collapse of the previous Petkov cabinet.

“I believe that the mission to change our country is history and, however difficult it may be, the Bulgarians will achieve it,” President Radev said, according to the Bulgarian television network BNT.

The president has announced that next week he will name a new person in charge of forming the government, and has conveyed his hope that on this occasion, the second largest parliamentary group will manage to gather support.

After the failure of the formation We Continue the Change (PP), President Radev will grant said responsibility to the opposition Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. If these attempts fail, the country will have to hold new elections, which would be the fourth since April 2021.

Despite negotiating once again with the socialists, with There Is Such a People and the conservative-liberal-green alliance formed by Democratic Bulgaria (DB), Vasilev has failed to convince at least 121 of the 240 necessary deputies.

PP only has 67 deputies, so it depends on the union of an always fragile coalition to maintain governability. Petkov’s four-party alliance fell apart last June after the populist Exist Tal left it in protest at its position on North Macedonia.