Blog post published by presidential-power.com
The Bulgarian government has been under constant pressure since it took office about five months ago. The previous single-party government, led by PM Borisov of the centre-right GERB party, resigned in February 2013 following mass protests against austerity measures and high energy prices. The coalition government between the Socialist Party and the party of the Turkish minority, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, is the result of the early election called in May 2013. The centre-right GERB party won the highest number of votes in the May general election, but gained only 97 out of the 240 parliamentary seats. Together, the Socialists and the Turkish minority party control 120 seats, with 84 and 36 seats respectively. As the two parties are one seat short of a simple majority, their survival in office depends on the abstention of the ultra-nationalist Ataka party, which has 23 parliamentary seats.
Anti-government demonstrations began as soon as the new cabinet members were appointed in late May 2013. The protests intensified after the appointment of Delyan Peevski, an MP for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms party and notorious media tycoon, as head of the State Agency for National Security. The daily rallies demanding the government’s resignation have been given new life by the ongoing student occupation of Sofia University that began in late October.
To expose the executive’s reliance on the support of the far-right, GERB, the main opposition party in the current legislature, has tabled three no-confidence motions against the government’s infrastructure and regional development policies since September. The government survived the motions voted on in October only because the Ataka MPs abstained or did not take part in the vote. The GERB party announced that it will introduce as many no-confidence motions as are necessary to trigger the government’s resignation.
The president, whose candidacy in the 2011 presidential election was supported by the GERB party, has also used his constitutional powers to put more pressure on the ruling coalition. Apart from challenging cabinet bills, President Plevneliev has also asked the Constitutional Court to rule on the state institutions’ power to cancel their own appointments to other state institutions. This matter emerged as a result of the controversial appointment of Delyan Peevski as head of the state security. In response to the mass protests generated by the way in which the government had rushed this decision through parliament without proper debate, the MPs decided to reverse Mr Peevski’s appointment. This decision opened a debate about whether or not he could simply resume his parliamentary seat. The GERB party asked the Constitutional Court to examine the case.
The Court’s first ruling was issued on October 8 and allowed Delyan Peevski to keep his MP status. Subsequently, President Plevneliev asked the Court to decide if the parliament had had the right to cancel the appointment of Mr Peevski as head of the secret service in the first place. The president argued that the Court needs to clarify whether and under what circumstances state institutions like the parliament and the presidency have the power to dismiss or to reverse their own appointments. The president’s second referral of this case to the Court might therefore set a legal precedent and could redefine the ability of political actors to control the composition of state institutions. The Court’s second ruling on this case is expected in January 2014.
Recent polls have shown that public trust in all state institutions is declining sharply. The government’s approval rate has fallen below 20% and about three quarters of Bulgarians want early elections to be called. President Plevneliev has compared the current protests with those that toppled the GERB government in February. He also emphasised that the executive should not remain indifferent to the people’s outrage with high-level corruption. As the student demonstrations gain more popular support every day and lacking the support of a majority in the parliament, the government’s ability to remain in office is put under serious question.
