Bulgarian Lawmakers Back Cabinet That Vows to End Corruption
Bulgarian Lawmakers Back Cabinet That Vows to End Corruption
(Bloomberg) -- A new government led by a Harvard-educated anti-corruption advocate took power in Bulgaria, ending a political standoff that had blocked the European Union member’s struggle to combat the pandemic and tap aid funds from the bloc.
Lawmakers on Monday backed the cabinet led by 41-year-old entrepreneur Kiril Petkov, whose party emerged after two inconclusive elections in April and July failed to end a political standoff to win a third ballot in November.
Petkov’s Continuing the Change party, which campaigned on a “zero tolerance” platform against graft, defeated Gerb, a political force led by former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov that dominated Bulgarian politics for more than a decade. Petkov then teamed up with other anti-sleaze factions to form a four-party coalition.
“I will insist on exposing corruption from the lowest to the highest level,” Petkov told the assembly and vowed for “zero tolerance for every lev spent illegally.”
Ranked the EU’s most corrupt country, Bulgaria for years has faced criticism over its failure to uphold rule of law. Other members of the bloc have kept it out of the Schengen free travel zone, and the European Commission has said progress on judiciary is needed in order to approve its access to recovery funding.
Petkov said Saturday that changing judicial legislation to improve the work of anti-corruption groups is among his first priorities, along with measures to control soaring energy prices and increasing vaccinations against Covid-19. Bulgaria has the EU’s lowest inoculation rate and one of the world’s highest death rates.
While he was able to secure a majority after monthlong negotiations, Petkov’s government may have a hard time surviving a full four-year term.
His coalition includes three other parties that in the past have refused to cooperate. They include the Socialists, a broad anti-corruption coalition called Democratic Bulgaria, and the anti-establishment ITN, led by singer and talk show host Stanislav Trifonov.
Petkov’s government must also complete Bulgaria’s technical preparation to join the euro area in 2024, keeping its existing lev-euro peg, Assen Vassilev, the newly appointed finance minister, told reporters.
While Bulgaria is already in the ERM-2 pre-euro exchange rate mechanism, reluctance from older member states to admit new applicants may pose a challenge.
“For Schengen, we’ve had technical preparedness for ten years now, but there’s no political will on our partners’ side,” Vassilev said. “I hope we won’t face such problems when we enter the euro area.”
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