Bulgaria’s Bliznashki caretaker cabinet takes office
Bulgaria’s new caretaker cabinet headed by constitutional law professor Georgi Bliznashki took office at a ceremony on August 6 2014 at the Council of Ministers building in Sofia, attended by members of the incoming and outgoing administrations.
“Our main task is to organise and hold free and fair elections. It is obvious that we have to restore the trust of the civil society in Bulgaria’s political institutions. Our caretaker cabinet will make every effort possible that the elections are held with the active participation of the civil society,” Bliznashki said.
Bliznashki’s administration will continue in office until a new government is voted by the legislature formed after the October 5 ahead-of-term elections – it has no set term and would stay in office should the snap polls produce another hung parliament like the 42nd National Assembly (officially prorogued by President Rossen Plevneliev on August 6) that is unable to elect a new government quickly.
Bliznashki outlined several other areas that will receive the caretaker cabinet’s attention, including “re-establishing the trust of our partners in the EU and Nato”, as well as continuing work on key reforms.
“We did not seek extraordinary powers. We have a clear understanding of the limitations of our mandate, both in terms of its lifespan and the powers of a caretaker cabinet,” Bliznashki said.
On the issue of the Budget revision – asked for by President Plevneliev and tabled by the Plamen Oresharski cabinet, but denied by socialist obstructions in Parliament – Bliznashki said that the increased financial flexibility offered by the revision bill was not a “carte blanche”, as described by the socialists during House debates.
“Despite the limited financial resources available to the caretaker cabinet, we will answer the fears and pain of our suffering compatriots,” he said, referring to the victims of floods that hit Bulgaria in recent days.
(Caretaker PM Georgi Bliznashki, left, with outgoing prime minister Plamen Oresharski during the handover ceremony on August 6. Photo: government.bg)
