SOFIA,
July 24, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Bulgaria's
Socialists formed on Sunday, July 24, a minority government with a
party representing the Muslim minority, with young non-partisans given
key cabinet posts.
Premier-designate
Sergey Stanishev unveiled a cabinet comprising 13 ministers from his
Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and five from the Movement for Rights
and Freedoms (MRF), reported Agence France Presse (AFP).
"This
government is not only comprised by the Socialists and the MRF, but
one which will work for national interests and the interests of all
Bulgarians," said Stanishev.
The
Socialists, who won 82 seats in the June 25 legislative elections,
will sign a formal coalition treaty with the MRF, which has 34
parliamentary seats, later on Sunday.
Stanishev
will then submit the cabinet list to President Georgi Parvanov, with
the parliament expected to hold a confidence vote on Tuesday, July 26.
The
centrist National Movement (NMSII) of outgoing Premier and ex-king
Simeon Saxe-Coburg, which has 54 seats, has refused to join a
coalition government.
The
MRF joined the government in 2001 for the first time after winning 20
seats in the elections that year.
It
had two ministers, seven deputy ministers and three regional
governors.
In
the last municipal elections in 2003, the MRF won 10 percent of the
vote -- the same result scored by the NMSII.
The
MRF was created during the communist rule in Bulgaria in response to
the regime's brutal assimilation campaign against the Muslim minority.
It
commands support from the 800,000-strong ethnic Turk community in
Bulgaria as well as from the so-called Pomacs -- Slavs who embraced
Islam during the Ottoman rule -- and a small group of Muslim Gypsies.
Support
for the MRF is strongest in the tobacco-growing southern regions
around Kurdzhali and in the northeastern town of Razgrad, with its
high Turkish population.
Young
Non-partisans
Stanishev
named Ivailo Kalfin, a respected economic adviser to President Georgi
Parvanov, as deputy prime minister and foreign and EU affairs
minister, reported Reuters.
Boiko
Kotsev, the outgoing deputy interior minister and the man in charge
ensuring rule-of-law in Bulgaria meets EU standards, was given control
of justice -- the ministry many analysts say will make or break
Bulgaria's EU accession efforts.
And
in a surprise move, Stanishev named Plamen Oresharski, deputy finance
minister in charge of foreign debt under the 1997-2001 right-of-center
government, as finance minister.
Analysts
said that by choosing a handful of respected experts for leading
positions, the Socialists had given deputies from rival parties a
convincing reason to back a minority government and prevent a crisis
that could lead to snap polls.
"It
looks like a decent semi-professional government. It's a good
sign," said Ognian Shentov, head of the Centre for the Study of
Democracy.
"Some
of the Socialists' rivals could use these non-political figures as an
excuse to support the cabinet, especially with the added need for
stability in regards to EU membership."
The
Socialists and MRF control only 116 of parliament's 240 seats, but
they say they have poached enough votes from individual deputies from
rival parties to win the simple majority needed to survive the motion.
"I
am convinced that there are enough responsible deputies who will make
their choice and defend the priorities of Bulgaria," Socialist
deputy leader Rumen Petkov told Reuters.
Brussels
has warned the Black Sea state of 8 million it will delay its
accession to the EU until 2008 unless it can quickly form a government
and complete reforms including an overhaul of its slow and often
corrupt judicial system.
