President Radev: The options for choosing a caretaker prime minister are extremely narrow

President Rumen Radev on March 29 commented that the options for choosing a caretaker prime minister are extremely narrow. Asked by BNT whether he was already clear whom he would appoint as prime minister, the President said he would answer after talking to all potential caretaker prime ministers.

"The options are extremely narrow. You can see that there are a number of problems in terms of compatibility of a number of these positions as well. The way these changes (to the Constitution) have been drafted - all sorts of pitfalls can occur in the process. I have already stated that I will do my best to meet the requirements of the Constitution, no matter how bad these changes are," the President said.

Rumen Radev participated in a conference on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of our countryBulgaria’s accession to NATO. The forum brought together almost the entire political and diplomatic elite in the country.

In response to journalists' questions, cabinet ministers commented on the future of the caretaker government and their own.

Mariya Gabriel, outgoing Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs: "I think it is to the benefit of the country not to have timelessness, but that does not mean to rush things through and without clarity on the next steps. So for me the guiding principle is to have clarity. What I do know is that I will be Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister until the last day of this government and I will continue to do my job conscientiously."

Todor Tagarev, outgoing Defence Minister: 'Given that they failed to agree on a regular government, which was the best option, at least now a caretaker government should be quickly established and we should go through all the procedures and look for a lasting stable solution again. The security situation is so complex that we cannot afford to remain weightless for long."

Kalin Stoyanov, outgoing Minister of Interior: "Whoever has to organise elections, the main thing they have to do is to make them fair and calm."

Bogdan Bogdanov, outgoing Minister of the Economy: "We are working at the moment to complete the tasks that are on our plan, so we are not making any additional plans."

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The Head of State began a series of meetings with potential caretaker prime ministers on March 28.

According to the Constitution, after consultations with the parliamentary groups, if no agreement on forming a cabinet can be reached, the President appoints a caretaker government and schedules new general elections within two months.

Under the latest changes to the Constitution, the President may choose the potential caretaker Prime Minister from a list that includes the Speaker of Parliament, the Governor and Deputy Governors of the central bank Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), the head of the National Audit Office and his deputies, and the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman.