Bulgaria elections 2017: Borissov is vulnerable over political decisions, less so the economy
If ever there was a good time to predict the outcome of the parliamentary elections that Bulgaria is set to have in 2017, it is most certainly not while they are still at least four months away.
November 22 has just passed, meaning that one of the very few milestones that is predictable about Bulgaria’s near future is just less than two months away: Roumen Radev’s inauguration as president.
It is expected that it will be Radev that will decree the date for Bulgaria’s early parliamentary elections. Incumbent President Rossen Plevneliev is barred from doing so by the constitution because he is in his final three months in office.
Given the two-month timeframe between decreeing elections and holding them after the president dissolves the National Assembly, the parliamentary election date can be no earlier than March 22 – and quite possibly could be some days or weeks later. Given Bulgaria’s custom of holding elections on a Sunday, practically the earliest date could be March 26. But don’t take that to the bank either.
Leave aside the official campaign period of a month preceding the election date – every political party in Bulgaria will be, and is, in campaign mode. For several years now, they have never seemed to get out of it.
Boiko Borissov, as leader of his GERB party, is no exception.
Perforce, as someone who has headed the government for about six of the past eight years, he will stand on his record and that of his governments (2009/13 and 2014/16).
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/Politics
