site.btaUDF Leader Confident about Successful Rotation, Says Cabinet Likely to Serve Full Term

"I am confident that we will succeed with the rotation, and a full term [of the incumbent Cabinet] is highly probable," Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) Chair and GERB-UDF Deputy Floor Leader Rumen Hristov said in a bTV interview on Wednesday morning.

He was referring to an arrangement made in early June 2023 between the two largest groups in the incumbent Parliament, Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) and GERB-UDF, according to which Nikolay Denkov of CC-DB and Mariya Gabriel of GERB-UDF were to rotate as prime minister and deputy prime minister over a nine-month period, starting with Denkov. Subject to this understanding, the two parliamentary groups plus the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) voted the Denkov Cabinet into office on June 6, 2023. The rotation is due to take place on March 6, 2024.

"Hence Mr Radev should not be concerned about being stripped of his powers because he will be unable to form another [caretaker] cabinet within the lifetime of this Parliament," Hristov said, referring to President Rumen Radev and recent constitutional amendments that restricted the President's powers.

The interviewee said that a formal discussion of the Cabinet rotation will open on Thursday in the presence of GERB leader Boyko Borissov, CC-DB Co-leaders Kiril Petkov and Hristo Ivanov, and MRF Floor Leader Deyan Peevski.

Asked why the MRF will join the negotiations, Hristov said that this parliamentary groups played a positive role during the past year, especially with regard to the Constitution. "Nobody calls into question their Euro-Atlantic orientation, they said that they do not wish to share in executive power and would be a good back-up if some provisions of the Constitution have to be revoted," he pointed out. 

The UDF leader explained that the initial decisions are normally made by a narrower format but will be discussed subsequently with all partners.

Hristov declined to name cabinet members who may lose their portfolios upon the rotation but added that an in-depth assessment will be made of every minister's performance, and replacements, if any, should not be an end in themselves but should seek an improvement of the Cabinet's operation. 

"If [incumbent Finance Minister and CC-DB Co-chair] Assen Vassilev is nominated for deputy prime minister by CC-DB, we will back the proposal," the interviewee said, commenting on the idea that Vassilev should take this office instead of Denkov. Whether Denkov will be deputy prime minister is entirely up to CC-DB "and we will entirely reckon with this decision," Hristov explained. "In my personal opinion, the next cabinet should better include political figures so that they bear direct responsibility," he said. According to Hristov, the present Cabinet includes people who are unfamiliar and have stepped forward as experts. He commented that the ministers are political figures, whereas the experts can be deputy ministers of directors of directorates or agencies.

The UDF leader argued that the participants in the Government-backing ruling majority should better sign "some sort of agreement" "because it is easier to follow written rules".

Regarding the expiring time limits to nominate candidates for Constitutional Court judges, Hristov confirmed that the options discussed include GERB-UDF Floor Leader Desislava Atanasova, Ekaterina Zaharieva, Radomir Cholakov and other experts.

The interviewee added that moral integrity and extensive experience will be the principal eligibility criteria for the two new members of the Constitutional Court of the parliamentary quota.

Parliament has until January 11, 2024 to nominate two Constitutional Court judges to fill up the legislature's quota, since the term of their predecessors expired two years ago.

Hristov confirmed that the vacancies in the complement of the regulatory authorities should be filled on the basis of proportionality but did not rule out the possibility of the MRF being represented as well.