Bulgarian Prime Minister designate Kiril Petkov presented the composition of his future government to the nation as he seeks to end eight months of political deadlock. Parliament is expected to vote on the cabinet lineup on Monday.
Petkov, 41, leader of the newly formed centrist party We Continue the Change (PP), reached an agreement with three other left-wing and center-right groups to form a coalition government. The proposed coalition government headed by Petkov comprises ministers from We Continue the Change, as well as representatives of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, populist formation There Is Such a People (TISP) and the anti-status quo, pro-reform Democratic Bulgaria coalition. The four formations hold a majority in the 240-seat parliament.
Petkov’s party will hold 10 of the 21 ministerial positions, including the prime minister and two deputy prime minister posts.
Petkov, whose party came in first on an anti-graft platform, told media on December 11 that the future government will have “zero tolerance” for corruption and said one of his first priorities will be to reform the Anti-Corruption Commission. Other top priorities include controlling electricity prices and tackling COVID-19 by speeding up vaccination, he said.
The Balkan country of 7 million has one of the world’s fastest-shrinking populations, as well as the highest income inequality and the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the 27-nation EU.
The cabinet features several ministers of the caretaker government appointed by Radev, which has been running the country since the inconclusive regular general election in April, including Petkov himself and finance minister Assen Vassilev. Caretaker prime minister Stefan Yanev will serve as defense minister in the new cabinet.
BSP leader Kornelia Ninova is nominated as the economy and industry minister. Aleksandar Nikolov of TISP will head the energy ministry, while Teodora Genchovska, also from TISP, will be in charge of foreign affairs.
The new government will also have to urgently move forth with the country’s recovery and resilience plan worth 12.9 billion levs ($7.5 billion/6.6 billion euro), which the European Commission returned for further consideration last week. The Commission singled out the rule of law and a comprehensive overhaul of the energy as some of the problematic areas.
