Bulgaria: no-confidence vote against PM Petkov
The government of Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, which has only been in office for six months, has been toppled by a vote of no confidence. Petkov's liberal-socialist coalition lost its majority in parliament two weeks ago after the populist ITN party withdrew from the coalition government. What comes next: new elections or a protracted stalemate?
Political chaos slowing the economy
Dnevnik sees troubled times ahead:
“By the looks of it the roundabout of transitional governments and new elections will start up again. It will not be easy to find a new governing formula. And all this against the backdrop of revised expectations for economic growth, the highest inflation in the last 20 years, disputes over the state of public finances and the level of public debt, and a budget update submitted to parliament with an unclear fate.”
Government could survive nonetheless
A vote of no confidence is not the end of the world, Sega comments:
“With a vote of no confidence, the cabinet continues to govern until a new regular or caretaker government is formed. Parliament won't be dissolved and can go on functioning for at least another two months. Petkov still has the chance to reincarnate the previous government in a new constellation - in a three-party coalition [without ITN] supported by independent deputies [who split from ITN]. ... But even if he finds these six MPs [necessary to obtain a majority], and even if he does form a government, he'll only have a razor-thin majority in parliament.”