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Borissov, a former firefighter, founded Gerb the following year and the party became the largest Bulgarian party represented in the European parliament just five months later. Gerb went on
to win the parliamentary elections in 2009, and Borissov’s first term as prime minister lasted until February when
he was forced to step down amid mass protests over high energy prices, low living standards and corruption.
18 months later, after the Socialist- backed technocratic government of Plamen Oresharski, Bulgarians backed Gerb again, albeit with a smaller
share of the vote than in 2009. This meant Borissov was able to form a new minority government with support from a mixed bag of rightwing, leftwing and nationalist parties.
The coalition was already starting to splinter when Borissov badly misjudged the 2016 presidential elections, pledging to step down if Gerb’s candidate Tsetska Tsacheva did not emerge as the winner.
After his resignation, however, Borissov won the next snap vote and headed a third government, this time picking a far-right nationalist coalition as Gerb’s partner. However, Borissov’s third mandate was shaken by numerous corruption scandals, months-long anti-government protests joined by thousands of people, several changes of ministers and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which led to the demise of his popularity and the subsequent poor showing on April 4.
In the days to follow, he made several proposals, including to back Trifonov’s government by giving him the votes of 10 Gerb MPs, but eventually announced he would give up his seat in parliament. This led analysts to anticipate that
he will not fight for a new mandate as prime minister.
More of the same?
Although Borissov’s imminent departure seems like a victory for the protesters who tried through last summer and autumn to force Borissov out, many fear that Trifonov seems like more of the same rather than a true alternative to Borissov.
Borissov was a firefighter and bodyguard before he entered politics, while Trifonov made his name on television, but they also have much in common. Both
have controversial pasts with alleged connections to controversial businesses
– Borissov has been linked to former insurance company SIK and founded the IPON 1 security agency that specialised in debt collection and provided bodyguards to Bulgaria’s most powerful figures, including the disgraced communist dictator Zhikov, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
Trifonov, on the other hand, was rumoured to have links to Multigroup, a company founded by Ilia Pavlov
in the 90s. From the 90s to the present such security agencies as IPON 1
and Multigroup have been widely reported in Bulgarian media to have acted as fronts for racketeering and extortion outfits.
The two are also seen as men with big egos who make all the decisions in their political parties without debates, as well as not being keen to talk openly to the media.
Borissov and Trifonov have had rather good relations in the past and many believed they would form the next ruling coalition. However, Trifonov became a loud critic of Borissov when he became mayor of Sofia. The rift between the two men was partially overcome in 2018 when the prime minister had a rather friendly interview on Trifonov’s show. Critics of the showman said at the time that the interview was very disappointing as Trifonov asked all the right questions to Borissov to help him look good and avoided all inconvenient ones.
His critics have repeatedly said that
his style of management and political discourse seem rather similar to those of Borissov and that the country has picked more of the same.
On the other hand, the showman- turned-politician has repeatedly said he would not agree to form a coalition with any of the three traditional parties – Gerb, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the ethnic-Turk Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS).
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