Bulgaria’s Reformist Bloc drama: Kouneva’s party to continue supporting government
Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kouneva’s Bulgaria for Citizens Movement will continue supporting the Boiko Borissov government, but Kouneva does not want to take up the Justice Minister post vacated by Hristo Ivanov.
This emerged on December 14 after the leadership of Kouneva’s party met amid ructions within the Reformist Bloc, of which it is part, about whether to continue supporting the Borissov cabinet in the wake of the drama around Ivanov’s resignation.
On December 13, Radan Kanev’s Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria, also part of the bloc, said that it would become an opposition party though the DSB’s Petar Moskov would remain in the cabinet as Health Minister.
The Reformist Bloc’s leaders are to meet on December 15 to decide about future relations with and participation in the government. However, what is clear so far is that practically every Cabinet minister from the Reformist Bloc has signalled the intention not to resign.
The only resignation that came on December 14 was that of Atanas Atanassov, of the DSB, who stepped down as head of the National Assembly’s committee on internal security and public order.
Kouneva said that her party intended continuing participating in the government of the country, to guarantee the stability of the institutions and the inevitability of reforms. She said that her party would propose a declaration with Borissov’s GERB party on supporting the government and making clear commitments on which visible results should be achieved in the next six months.
She indicated that she would not accept the post of Justice Minister. Borissov has said that he was awaiting a proposal from the Reformist Bloc on naming a candidate for the post. On December 14, before Kouneva’s party announced its decision, GERB parliamentary group leader Tsvetan Tsetanov had said that the post could be offered to Kouneva.
