Bulgarian parliament approves new government to end months-long negotiations on Reuters coalition
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria’s parliament approved a government led by Rosen Zhelyazkov, a former parliament speaker, on Thursday, ending months of negotiations to form a coalition government.
The center-right GERB party won snap elections in October, the seventh held in the Balkan state in four years, but had to negotiate with other political parties for more than two months to form a government.
On Wednesday, Zhelyazkov, who was nominated by the largest parliamentary group GERB-SDS, received a mandate to form the government from President Rumen Radev.
About 125 lawmakers in the 240-seat legislature approved Zheljazkov’s cabinet in a vote on Thursday, clearing the way for a new government to take office.
Bulgaria, the European Union’s poorest member and one of its most corrupt states, has struggled with rotating governments since anti-corruption protests toppled the GERB coalition in 2020.
The NATO member needs political stability to speed up the flow of EU funds into its creaking infrastructure and push it towards adopting the euro.
“Bulgaria needs a regular government that will implement policies that support the democratic rule of law, the competitiveness of the economy, security and the protection of citizens’ social rights,” Zhelyazkov told parliament ahead of the vote.
Bulgaria’s plans to join the eurozone have been delayed twice due to missed inflation targets. Zhelyazkov pledged on Wednesday that his government would help the country enter the single-currency bloc.
