Bulgarian Diplomat Tipped for Caretaker PM - Report

Bulgarian President, Rosen Plevneliev, will most likely appoint as caretaker Prime Minister a Bulgarian living and working abroad.

According to Bulgarian Standard daily, Plevneliev and his most trusted people have finalized the choice at a secret lunch over the weekend and in the aftermath of exhausting negotiations and bargaining.

The new PM would be a man, over the age of 35, a non-partisan economist, working abroad for the Bulgarian State in an EU country, well-known and respected in Brussels.

Insiders assume this is Radi Naydenov, currently Bulgarian Ambassador in Berlin. Naydenov, who is a seasoned diplomat, is said to be a top notch professional and respected in Chancellor Angela Merkel's circles.

He has a degree in international relations from the University of National and Word Economy in Sofia.

Another rumored name is the one of the Bulgarian Ambassador to Romania, Alexander Filipov, who has been an employee of the Foreign Affairs Ministry since 2002.

At the Saturday meeting, Ombudsman Konstantin Penchev has declined the offer to become caretaker PM on grounds the possibility of having a series of snap elections could force him to hold the post for an undetermined period of time.

Other candidates have also been discussed at the lunch by lawyers and business experts.

On February 21, Bulgaria's Parliament approved the resignation of the government of Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, and his ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, amidst the unprecedented since 1997 protest rallies against the unbearable utility bills, the monopolies and the wide-spread poverty, which later turned into a civil unrest and political demands.

Snap general election is to be held May 12, just two months ahead of the regular date in July.

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