site.btaDemocratic Bulgaria: Caretaker Government Knew in Advance that Proposed Regular Cabinet Would Be Voted Down

The caretaker government of Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev replaced regional governors of GERB with people of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) just hours before the proposed Rosen Zhelyazkov cabinet was rejected by the National Assembly on July 3. This means that the caretaker government knew in advance that the proposed regular cabinet would not be elected, Stela Nikolova of Democratic Bulgaria said on Friday. "We are obviously watching a stage play," Nikolova said. She asked rhetorically why the governors of all regions with sizeable ethnic Turkish communities have been replaced with MRF people.

Former economy minister Bogdan Bogdanov said: "The main problem is that all changes at this moment, including regional governors, involve the installment of people who are very close to [MRF leader] Delyan Peevski. This clearly indicates that the government-forming talks serve as a screen behind which preparations are being made for new elections while a circus show plays out in Parliament." The goal, he said, is a complete state capture.

"We see the same in key government ministries, where competitively recruited people are being dismissed to make room for individuals without suitable background who are appointed without competition," Bogdanov said.

Katya Paneva, also from Democratic Bulgaria, said that unfounded personnel changes are particularly disturbing in such a sensitive sector as security, where staff replacements should not be made by a caretaker government, especially after it has completed its main function, the organization and conduct of elections.