Bulgarian parliament approves centre-right govt

Описание: (4 May 2017) Bulgaria's parliament formally approved the country's new centre-right government on Thursday.
Its main tasks will be to restore stability, spur economic development and implement reforms the country badly needs.
Lawmakers voted 133-100 to elect 57-year-old Boiko Borisov as the new prime minister.
In a separate vote, legislators also approved the Cabinet - a coalition between Borisov's pro-EU centre-right GERB party and the far-right nationalist alliance United Patriots.
It will be Borisov's third term as prime minister. His party won most of the votes in the March 26 general election but not enough to form a government alone. This led to the decision to include for the first time nationalist parties in a government coalition.
The former bodyguard and Sofia mayor headed his first government between 2009 and 2013 but stepped down amid nationwide social protests that turned violent.
Last November, he quit halfway into his second term after his party's candidate lost in the presidential vote to the Socialist opponent.
Meanwhile, Bulgaria has been run by a caretaker cabinet.
Now, GERB holds 95 and the nationalists 27 seats in the 240-seat legislature. The new government can also rely on the declared support by the 12 legislators of the populist party Volya.
This controversial coalition appears to be the only choice for Borisov, as the other two groups in parliament - the Socialists with 80 seats and the mainly Turkish MRF with 26 seats - stated their firm will to stay in opposition.
Bulgaria, a Black Sea nation of 7.2 million, remains the European Union's poorest member ten years after it joined the bloc. Once Moscow's closest ally, it still depends almost fully on Russian gas and nuclear fuel supplies.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Borisov pledged to keep the country on pro-European and pro -NATO track.
The main challenges for his Cabinet will be to maintain stability in the country amid uncertainty in the EU after Britain's exit, instability in neighbouring Turkey and Macedonia, and fears of a potential migrant inflow.
Political analysts say that the two coalition partners will likely bridge their differences and the government could serve out its four-year term.

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