Bulgarian President Rumen Radev today gave the order to form a government to Rosen Zhelyaskov as the GERB-UDF candidate for Prime Minister. Zhelyaskov had already prepared the cabinet and proceeded to read its proposed structure and composition.

Shortly thereafter, the president issued a decree asking Parliament to vote on the proposed cabinet. This was a surprisingly quick development in a process that usually takes a week.

Here is a summary of the remarks of the president and GERB-UDF representatives who met with the head of state and then spoke to journalists:

As he gave the order to Zhelyaskov, President Radev said it was a “great responsibility and test”. The president referred to the fragmented parliament, the low turnout in the June 9 elections which, he said, “always affects the legitimacy of institutions and must be addressed with systematic efforts in the name of the public interest.”

Having announced his proposal for the government, Zhelyaskov stated that he will make several commitments to the possible cabinet: the stabilization of the fiscal model, the normalization of public finances and above all the priorities in relation to the work of the parliament, one of which clear legislative program with deadlines that can unite the majority in the name of the country’s priorities. He underlined “the strong Euro-Atlantic orientation” of the government.

GERB party leader Boyko Borisov told reporters that if a government is formed, it will fulfill “three or four tasks and then resign.” He listed three tasks: approving the state budget, unblocking EU funding and progressing towards joining the eurozone. “If the government succeeds thanks to a trick – either if some MPs choose not to come to vote or decide to support us but not as a party, not in the majority to get our program through – then the government will be very short-lived, no why someone will overthrow it but why we will leave,” said Borisov. He urged the “Continuing the Change – Democratic Bulgaria” alliance and “all others who have turned their backs on the state and have chosen to protect or reclaim their electoral base” to support the government.

In a post on Facebook today, the co-leader of the “Continuing the Change” party Kirill Petkov wrote that his party will not support a government of GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) “dreamed up by MRF leader Delyan Peevski, because the next reforms that Bulgaria needs are impossible to implement with these parties”.

The nationalist party Vazrazhdane (Renaissance) told BTA that its position remains unchanged and it is determined not to support a cabinet of GERB-UDF and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms.