Page 56 - bne magazine July 2022_20220704

56 I Southeast Europe bne July 2022
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov lost the confidence vote on June 22. www.government.bg
Bulgaria’s reformist government loses no-confidence vote
Denitsa Koseva in Sofia
Bulgaria’s reformist government led by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov lost a no-confidence motion filed by former ruling party Gerb and backed by three more parties.
The vote puts an end to the Petkov government’s efforts to tackle corruption in Bulgaria – ranked by Transparency International as the most corrupt state in the EU – and plunges the country back into political instability.
123 out of 240 MPs voted against Petkov’s government on June 22, including those from Gerb, the ethnic-Turk Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), There Are Such People (ITN) – that until June 8 was
a member of the ruling coalition – and far-right, pro-Russian Vazrazhdane.
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The government was backed by all members of the ruling coalition and six former members of ITN who left the party after its decision to quit the coalition.
“It was my honour to lead a government taken down by Borissov, Peevski, Trifonov and Mitrofanova,” Petkov said after the vote.
He was referring to Gerb’s leader
and former prime minister Boyko Borissov, US-blacklisted DPS member Delyan Peevski, the leader of ITN Slavi Trifonov and the Russian ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova.
“This vote is a small step on the long road. They did not understand that they cannot win the Bulgarian people this way,” Petkov said.
Demonstrations outside parliament
The vote took place in a tense atmosphere with a thousands-strong demonstration in support of the cabinet and rival, but significantly smaller, protests against it.
Outside parliament, supporters of Petkov’s coalition were chanting “Mafia out” during and after the vote. The voting was live broadcasted by BNT and protesters were aware of what was happening in the parliament.
At the back of parliament, several hundred people, suspected to have been organised by the DPS and Vazrazhdane, cheered the fall of Petkov.
“When outside parliament Peevski protests against this government, when Gerb clearly expresses its desire that it will