Bulgaria Next PM Announces New Government

Boyko Borisov, leader of GERB party, winner in the recent general elections, will officially announce the names of the ministers in his government after his party ousted the Socialists in July 5 vote.

The incoming prime minister will hand back to President Georgi Parvanov the mandate to appoint new cabinet that he received on July 16.

GERB party will run a minority government to tackle corruption and the economic crisis, Bulgaria's second minority cabinet after the one, headed by Filip Dimitrov (1991-1992).

The conservative center-right GERB claimed 116 MP seats in July 5 vote, shattering Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev's Socialist Party and falling just five seats short of holding a majority in the 240-seat unicameral parliament, which makes it easy for it to enter a wide range of informal alliances.

The party has already proposed a draft memorandum, which highlights the unity and consolidation of the majority, support for the future cabinet and the adoption of constitutional amendments.

GERB announced that they will offer a memorandum for political partnership and support for its new government to all parliamentary parties except for the ones that participated in the outgoing Socialist-led three-way coalition.

The next government is expected to bring in Western-educated economists and reformists to fulfill a pledge to revive the economy and clamp down on chronic corruption.

Simeon Djankov, Minister of Finance, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Interior Minister, Yordanka Fandakova, Minister of Education, Vezhdi Rashidov, Minister of Culture, Nikolay Mladenov, Defense Minister, and Margarita Popova, Justice Minister, have already been officially announced as members of the new cabinet.

Rumiana Jeleva is expected to take over the Foreign Ministry, Vratsa mayor Totyu Mladenov - the Social and Labor Ministry, Bozhidar Nanev, GERB MP and surgeon at Varna University Hospital - the Health Ministry.

Rosen Plevneliev has been tipped to be Regional Development Minister, which is expected to be merged with the Transport Ministry.

Nona Karadzhova is expected to be the next Environment Minister, while Trayko Traykov, procurist of EVN electricity distribution company, will head the Economy and Energy Ministry, which will not be split as initially announced.

Alexander Tsvetkov, currently deputy mayor of the capital Sofia, will most probably be Transport Minister.

Miroslav Naydenov, who was tipped to be head of the agriculture commission, is likely to take over the Agriculture Ministry, after Dessislava Taneva withdrew her nomination in the last minute.

Bozhidar Dimitrov, the director of Bulgaria's National History Museum is expected to enter the country's next government as minister without portfolio in charge of the Bulgarian citizens abroad.

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