Bulgaria’s WCC embarks on ‘exceedingly difficult’ bid to get government elected
Accepting a mandate from President Roumen Radev on January 3 to seek to form a government, the We Continue the Change (WCC) prime minister-designate Nikolai Denkov said that he was well aware that the task ahead was “exceedingly difficult”.
As the current Parliament’s second-largest group, WCC received the second mandate to try to form a government, after the first bid, by GERB-UDF, proved fruitless.
“I am accepting this mandate well aware that the task is an exceedingly difficult one…many people may say that it is impossible,” Denkov said.
“But we firmly believe that we must do everything we can to form a government.”
Denkov said that at the moment, WCC had the support of 109 MPs. Bulgaria’s National Assembly has 240 members, and for a government to be elected, a 50+1 share of those present and voting must vote in favour.
He said that WCC was inviting all other parliamentary groups for talks on the afternoon of January 3.
So far, discussions had been held about a declaration on the goals of a possible future government had been held with Democratic Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and Bulgaria Ascending.
Denkov said that there were four main priorities – development of an innovative and high-tech economy, ensuring national security, energy security in connection with the war in Ukraine and reducing inequalities, access to quality education and health care.
“The goals we have set are realistic and unifying. With the exception of Vuzrazhdane, which has completely different ideas about how Bulgaria should develop, I expect that GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms almost without exception could support each of these goals,” he said.
Should there be sufficient support in Parliament for the declaration, WCC would discuss the line-up of a candidate cabinet. According to Denkov, no such talks had yet been held with other groups.
Should there not be support for the declaration, WCC would not proceed to nominate a government, he said.
WCC now has, in line with the constitution, a seven-day deadline to present the president with a candidate government, or return the mandate unfulfilled.
Please support The Sofia Globe’s independent journalism by clicking on the orange button below. For as little as three euro a month or the equivalent in other currencies, you can support The Sofia Globe via patreon.com:
