Bulgaria welcomed 2023 with early parliamentary elections, continued with a local vote, and ended with a regular cabinet, a new Constitution and a new budget for 2024, reported BGNES.
In the past year 2023, another early parliamentary election was held, but this time it turned out to be successful, with a regular cabinet elected, albeit with a new, hitherto unknown formula.
The first two political groups in the 49th parliament, GERB-SDS and PP-DB formed a cabinet with a prime minister on a rotating basis, namely Academician Nikolay Denkov from PP-DB to be prime minister for 9 months, and Maria Gabriel, our European Commissioner in EC, who resigned in order to "immerse" himself in the internal politics of Bulgaria, to be deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, as part of GERB-SDS.
After the expiration of these 9 months, in March 2024, it is expected that Maria Gabriel will take over the post of Prime Minister, and Academician Nikolay Denkov the post of Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
Thus, in the end, Bulgaria received a regular cabinet with ministers nominated by PP-DB and one from GERB-SDS, but also with support from DPS. There was no lack of tremors in the executive power, criticism of ministers as well, but in the end the parliamentary groups quelled the tension that arose and the ruling majority was preserved.
The support in the legislative power even went further, namely with the votes of GERB-SDS, PP-DB and DPS, the amendments to the Constitution were adopted, which limited the powers of the president in appointing the official cabinet, gave the possibility to persons with dual citizenship to hold ministerial positions and become deputies, as well as the powers of the chief prosecutor were limited.
The triple majority also adopted a budget for the next year 2024, which aims for a 3% deficit in order to be accepted into the Eurozone in January 2025.
Important decisions were also adopted in the energy sector - the derogation of the Lukoil refinery was revoked, that is, the import of Russian oil is expected to become prohibited from March 1, 2024, and the export of Russian oil products is prohibited from January 1 2024
Unity at the national level, however, we do not see it so strongly at the local level.
In September, the Bulgarians elected the new local government for the next four years, but in places it is still blocked, such as the one in the capital. Vasil Terziev, nominated by PP-DB and "Save Sofia", was elected mayor of Sofia, but for five consecutive times the Sofia Municipal Council could not elect its own chairman, and so Sofia welcomes 2024 without an elected chairman and without a single new decision for the city, and a compromise like this at the national level - joint management between GERB-SDS and PP-DB in Sofia seems difficult.
Politically, with the arrival of 2024, we expect to see whether the local government in Sofia will finally appoint its own chairman or lose millions due to the non-functioning of the Metropolitan Municipal Council.
We have yet to see whether the adopted changes to the Constitution by GERB-SDS, PP-DB and DPS will be attacked by the Constitutional Court, whether Maria Gabriel will successfully head the Council of Ministers, what will be the subsequent changes in the judiciary, who will head the the regulators, whether the pledged revenues in the 2024 budget will be collected to enter the Eurozone and whether we will be successfully accepted into Schengen.
2024 is underway. /BGNES
