Bulgaria PM-designate brings reformists to new government

Boyko Borisov pledges to clean up corruption, appoints political newcomers

Bulgarian Prime Minister-elect, and Sofia’s present black-belt mayor, Boyko Borisov speaks to journalists in Sofia yesterday. Borisov unveiled a cabinet list yesterday to President Georgi Parvanov comprising 16 ministers from his GERB party.

By Tsvetelia Ilieva & Anna Mudeva - Reuters

SOFIA – Bulgaria’s Prime Minister-designate Boyko Borisov, under pressure to mend relations with the European Union, proposed several reformists as ministers in a center-right minority government he announced yesterday.

Borisov’s GERB party won a July 5 parliamentary election on promises to hold politicians, magistrates and crime bosses to account, and prevent a protracted recession in the European Union’s poorest and most corrupt member state.

Tough-talking Borisov, 50, a former bodyguard and most recently mayor of Sofia, said Simeon Djankov, a World Bank economist, would be his finance minister and vice premier.

Prosecutor Margarita Popova, praised at home and in Brussels for her investigations of fraud involving EU funds, will be the Balkan country’s justice minister.

Borisov presented President Georgi Parvanov with the names of his minority cabinet, which is expected to be approved by parliament on Monday with the support of other rightist parties.

Last week, Borisov said he had decided to form a minority government with the backing of three rightist groupings but without giving up any ministerial seats because he wanted GERB to take full responsibility for the planned radical reforms.

The rightist parties say they will back GERB’s agenda and will support the new government even if they are not given posts. GERB got 116 seats in the 240-strong chamber.

Most of the ministers in the new cabinet are newcomers to politics who face the task of restoring the rule of law, regaining the EU’s trust and protecting jobs.

“Borisov chose to attract new faces who have no experience in politics, which could bring both great success but also some risks,” said Kiril Avramov of the Political Capital think tank. “The economic crisis will test their resolve for reforms.”

Two-and-a-half years after joining the EU, Bulgaria has become the bloc’s black sheep. Brussels cut the country’s access to over half a billion euros last year as punishment for the previous Socialist-led cabinet’s failure to reform the judiciary and stop fraud.

Failing yet again to show results will lead to more sanctions on aid, badly needed for Bulgaria’s cash-strapped economy. On Wednesday, the EU rapped Sofia for slow changes and said it would continue to monitor its efforts.

To avoid future accusations about possible conflict of interest, Borisov made last-minute changes to the nominations for economy and agriculture ministers.

Local media have said the previous candidates for economy and farm ministers, Boyko Boev and Desislava Taneva, might serve certain Bulgarian business interests as they have worked for a big media publishing house and a farm conglomerate.

Borisov said his economy and energy minister will be Traicho Traikov, a 39-year-old executive at the Bulgarian arm of Austrian power utility EVN.

Borisov said he would shut the ministries of emergencies and administration but would create a new sports ministry as part of plans to restructure the public sector and cut costs.

Djankov, 39, a soft-spoken expert on transition economies and crisis response with over 13 years of service with the World Bank, has said Sofia will quickly slash spending to avoid a budget deficit that could put pressure on its currency peg.