Three of his own, three from the BSP and at least 9 former ministers or deputy ministers are among the likely names of government #100. For his fourth office, President Rumen Radev will rely on a team of experts – people who can communicate with everyone – potential partners, opposition, business, trade unions, civil society.
The names of the new caretaker government are expected to be announced
clear on Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest
The president is ready to strip his administration of “Dondukov” 2, but to release at least two of his most loyal people to fulfill the main tasks of the new service cabinet – to be more social and to take the turn from the US to Russia.
Therefore, the new acting prime minister will come from the circle of “Dondukov” 2 Dove Donev. The secretary of the head of state was the official social minister three times, and in crisis conditions he can best deal with people’s incomes. A few days ago, a rumor put a lady – the legal adviser – on this post Prof. Emilia Drumeva. If, however, Radev negotiates another new person for prime minister, Galab Donev will certainly be social minister.
The second safe in the cabinet is Radev’s chief secretary Col. Dimitar Stoyanov. He will be seconded to the Ministry of Defense. It is he who can reverse the course towards Moscow. It was Stoyanov who accused Kornelia Ninova that her economic ministry was sending weapons to Ukraine.
For a minister of culture, he is juicy Plamen Slavov, current Secretary of Education, Spirituality and Culture in the Presidential Administration.
Radev can pull at least three from the internal opposition in the BSP.
“The president did not put before us the question of our participants in the official cabinet. I assume that he will do the same as the first time – he will take some representatives of the socialists behind our backs. From now on I will say –
We will not be responsible for the work of the official cabinet,
since no one has officially approached us as a party to make proposals for ministers”, Ninova warned, clearly realizing that Radev had already set his sights on some socialists.
However, the rift in their relations opens up the possibility of attracting left-wing experts who are in Ninova’s “adversary” camp and will not seek her permission. Thus, there is no need to wait for a decision of the BSP National Council. Moreover, it is dominated by those who share the positions of the leadership, which means that it can deliberately block the people requested by Radev.
The MP from the BSP Krum Zarkov is a favorite for the Justice Department. He will represent only himself, not the BSP, if he does not ask the leadership, say his fellow party members. He is one of the young and well-liked persons in the BSP, a graduate of the Sorbonne, and gained a lot of experience in the legislature. The lawyer is one of the most outspoken critics of the party leadership and especially of Cornelia Ninova. He was even a candidate for chairman, but the resignation of the current leader deprived him of the opportunity to count his fans. In addition, he is the son of journalist Anna Zarkova, who was co-chairman of the initiative committee that nominated Radev for a second term.
However, Radev’s legal adviser is also an option for the Ministry of Justice Silva Dukenjieva, the professor of constitutional law Natalia Kiselova or the costitutionalist Prof. Plamen Kirov.
The Sports Ministry will be given to the former MP from the BSP Vesela Lecheva. And she is among the active socialists against Ninova. She was the head of the State Agency for Youth and Sports. He was also in the initiative committee that nominated Radev for a second presidential term.
The ambitious one socialist Yavor Gechev is the probable Minister of Agriculture, say those close to “Positano” 20. He will seek revenge after he did not keep his position as Deputy Minister in the quadruple coalition. With chances for agriculture and former acting minister Hristo Bozukov, who has enjoyed the trust of the president since 2017.
The president will seek help from a friend for rapprochement with Gazprom Nikolay Pavlov, if he becomes energy minister. The fear that Bulgaria will lose European funds will be calmed if the former deputy prime minister Atanas Pekanov become a minister without portfolio or deputy prime minister again. (See below.)
With a high chance of is a regional minister Ivan Shishkov, who was deputy minister last year. He was the deputy of Violeta Komitova in the previous caretaker government of Rumen Radev.
The financial experts of the time of Simeon of Saxe-Coburg – Lubomir Datsov and Iliya Lingorski, are the experts who can head the finance ministry. Since April, Lingorski has been in the management of the BNB as a presidential quota. Datsov was nominated a year ago by “There is such a people” as financier #1 in the failed government with Prime Minister Nikolay Vasilev.
For the Minister of Economy, acquaintances are returned to the post Daniela Vezieva.
Stella Baltova he has already been acting minister of tourism three times. It is aware of the problems of the sector, but the GERD-leaning branches do not approve of it, and the anti-epidemic measures further complicated the situation. An alternative is Nedyalka Sandalska and Siika Katsarova.
Asen Lichev was also among those discussed for returning to the Eco-Ministry. However, he threatened to be a “civil opposition to the “expert” cabinet.
Radev advocated for Irina Kostova and may seek her again as Minister of Environment and Water. The President can call on the Ministry of the Interior Vencislav Katinov, who has been missing the titular post for years. He is the former director of the regional directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Pleven, currently director of the “Public Order and Security” directorate in the municipality. In the first official government with Prime Minister Stefan Yanev, he was Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. Among the names mentioned for the interior minister was that of the former official justice and for a short time the deputy. Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev.
It is not yet clear who will be the new foreign minister. It is said that most likely it will be diplomat #1 from Stefan Yanev’s office Svetlan Stoev.
Once he returned to his ambassadorial post from Denmark, it is not certain that he will do it again, say his colleagues from Vutchno. The name of is also conjugated again Radi Naydenov, who was in this post and in Gerdzhikov’s office. Naydenov is now ambassador in Bern.
Their names were thrown around because the president must look for a dialogical but strict figure for External Affairs as well – to warm relations with Russia, without irritating the Euro-Atlantic partners, as well as to align positions with North Macedonia.
If Galab Donev becomes acting prime minister, the chair in the social ministry can go to Lazar Lazarovwho was deputy minister through various cabinets.
The president seeks help from Nikolay Pavlov and Atanas Pekanov
Until recently, the head of “Bulgargaz” Nikolai Pavlov he can talk to Moscow, and he was preferred as energy minister by Rumen Radev in 2017. Therefore, he will now take the same post again. His department is important, the warming of relations with Gazprom is also important”, say those close to the president. Not by chance, after the BSP returned the mandate, he declared: “The crisis in the energy sector can turn into a collapse of the economy and the social system, it is the worst legacy of this government.
“Dondukov” 1 will also return Atanas Pekanov. Former deputy prime minister for European funds, works with gusto, did not get involved in political projects and has charisma. His knowledge will be extremely important, especially given the emerging problems in the absorption of funds under the recovery and sustainability plan.
Galab Donev will be prime minister, he is sure and another secretary to the president – Colonel Dimitar Stoyanov is expected as a military officer minister to take a slight turn towards Russia as well
There is no clear favorite for the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education and Science. Radev’s initiative committee was full of rectors and deans of our prestigious universities. With the greatest chances, he was Prof. Hristo Beloev from Ruse, who, however, preferred a scientific career to a BSP parliamentary seat in 2014.
Ilko Semerdzhiev on the other hand, there was the option for acting minister of health. He already holds this position in the office of Ognyan Gerdzhikov.
The most exotic rumor is that Radev could have invited Asena Serbezova to stay to complete some reforms. Alternative options are the head of the state psychiatric hospital “St. Ivan Rilski” Tsveteslava Galabova and the rector of the MU in Plovdiv Prof. Mariana Murdjeva, who were in the initiative committee of the president for his second term.
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