Most likely, the process of selecting an acting prime minister has been halted due to the expected procedure for the president's resignation and the ruling of the Constitutional Court. In the coming days, we will find out what his party will be and we will see some of the people who will stand by him. Radev's first goal will be to have a majority in parliament. This is how the sociologist from “Trend” Evelina Slavkova commented on the consequences after President Rumen Radev's request to resign from the post of head of state.
On January 19, he stated that he was addressing the Bulgarians for the last time as their president, as he would submit his resignation on Tuesday. The head of state said this in an address to the people, made on the day that marks exactly four years since he was sworn in for his second term.
“It is quite natural for the president to speak against all parties and for the people in his speech. It is very important who will enter the next parliament. His cause is against the status quo, I assume that the PP-DB will use this line, but it will not be dominant. Rumen Radev will try to distance himself from the process of selecting an acting prime minister. In his campaign, he will also distance himself from the acting cabinet as a whole”, Slavkova believes.
For his part, sociologist from the “Myara” agency Parvan Simeonov described the head of state's move as brave. “There are many unknowns. In his speech, he described practically everyone - corrupt - he probably meant Borisov and Peevski, the conciliators - the participants in the assembly, and the extremists - the radical formations. There was no one left. He spoke against everyone. If the math works out, Radev could govern himself at some point. The question is not whether there will be a majority of 121 deputies, because perhaps 160 will be needed for changes in the judicial system. If more parties enter and his result is not high, they become even more unknown. The president had 9 years to prepare for this move, he probably did it”, commented Simeonov.
According to him, for a year now there has been a polite tone between the PP-DB and the Presidency. “This seems to me to be the next possible majority. However, part of the coalition will not tolerate it. However, if a majority of 160 deputies is to be pursued, they will probably need Borisov as well. Here, however, he must disassociate himself from Peevski, and it is not clear how this will happen. The GERB leader, however, will try to drive a wedge between PP-DB and Rumen Radev, precisely because he hopes that one day he may be needed. After these early elections, nothing prevents a new vote. He must run a strong majority campaign, and not show many other faces. After all, they will probably be mostly two types - completely unknown people working in the fields and familiar faces from the offices - for example, advisors and secretaries. The big danger is whether Rumen Radev will be able to be a politician - to make compromises and negotiate,” the sociologist also noted. And he warned that the head of state in resignation must be ready for multiple blows.
According to our basic law, the president can resign before the Constitutional Court. After that, the vice president takes over the position and remains in office until the end of the term. Radev confirmed that his deputy, Iliyana Yotova, is taking on this responsibility and expressed confidence that she will fulfill it with dignity.