Bulgaria's coalition talks: a fresh start?
After the surprise victory of the party We Continue the Change in the Bulgarian parliamentary election two weeks ago, it now faces the task of finding coalition partners in the country's fragmented political landscape. Four of the six parties that got into parliament have declared themselves prepared to engage in talks. The national press vacillates between optimism and resignation.
Parties capable of constructive talks after all
The talks between the potential coalition partners that were broadcast live on the Internet were unusually constructive by Bulgarian standards, Duma is delighted to report:
“The politicians are beginning to show that they are capable of finding consensus on the most important issues, rationally analysing and accepting the theses of other parties, and joining forces for the common good. Until recently, this was impossible. For twelve years we lived in a dictatorship according to the motto 'I am the law'. In the November election, Bulgarians made it clear that things cannot go on like this. So far the behavior of the four parties in the coalition talks shows that they have understood this.”
First tidy up the mess left behind
The election winners may have bitten off more than they can chew, Sega fears:
“Petkov and Vasilev are fond of citing Germany as an example, but the situation in Bulgaria is different. Whoever comes to power in Germany gets a rich and orderly country with functioning rules and institutions. In our country, the new rulers get Gerb's legacy [Borisov's former ruling party] and the long arm of the [Turkish minority party] DPS. So before they can start governing and reforming, they have to do a big clean-up. And learn.”