Bulgaria's Political Struggle: Another Attempt to Form a Government

Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev has given a governing mandate to the small party There Is Such a People (ITN) after last month's inconclusive elections. ITN faces an uphill task, following the failure of larger parties GERB and We Continue the Change (PP) to form a coalition. A stable government is crucial for Bulgaria’s EU fund access and eurozone ambitions.

In a bid to end Bulgaria's ongoing political deadlock, President Rumen Radev handed the mandate to form a government to the small party There Is Such a People (ITN) on Monday. ITN, which came sixth in the recent parliamentary vote, is the latest party to try building a stable coalition after the previous month's inconclusive election.

The anti-elite ITN faces a challenging path, particularly where larger parties GERB and We Continue the Change (PP) have already faltered. Failure to form a government could result in Bulgaria heading towards its seventh parliamentary election since 2021, exacerbating the country's political instability.

Bulgaria, known as the European Union's poorest and one of its most corrupt states, has suffered from a revolving door of governments since 2020's anti-graft protests toppled a GERB-led coalition. Despite winning only 16 seats in the 240-seat assembly, ITN's parliamentary group leader, Toshko Yordanov, expressed a commitment to transparent negotiations with all parliamentary parties.

(With inputs from agencies.)