President Radev to say next week when he will convene new Parliament

Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev will give the parties enough time for dialogue and seeking consensus in an attempt to form a governing majority. Radev stressed that now is the time for political courage because Bulgaria needs a functioning Parliament. From Malta, where the head of state is visiting, Rumen Radev also listed the achievements of the caretaker government, among which is the commissioning of the interconnector with Greece.

These elections also failed to break the trend of alienation from the parties, President Rumen Radev said.

"These elections also did not give any party the opportunity to govern on its own, nor did they give the opportunity for easy coalition formation. This, in fact, is a clear sign to the parties that people expect dialogue, understanding, they expect reason and finding common solutions. Now is not the time for cowardice. Bulgaria needs a working parliament. Now is the time to take responsibility, now is the time for political courage," he said.

The head of state expressed concern:

"Drawing of new red lines, especially after the elections, and the search for all sorts of reasons for refusing to form coalitions, uncovers the parties' fear of taking responsibility for governing in the winter, which, you know, can be associated with failure and hence a further erosion of trust," he said.

The President will announce next week when he will convene the new Parliament.

"I will consult the political parties, I will take their views fully into account because it is very important that they find common ground at the moment. I will provide all the conditions under the constitution so that there is enough time for dialogue, for seeking consensus and to form a governing majority," Radev assured.

The President pointed out that in just two months the caretaker government has built a solid foundation from which the next regular cabinet should be able to take the country through the winter without much difficulty.

"After 10 years of procrastination, the caretaker government has finally put the gas interconnector with Greece into operation and this has significantly lowered gas prices. At last, for the first time, a transparent, level-playing field auction for natural gas was held. The caretaker government has contributed to bringing down the price of fuel, and these are all good initial steps in curbing inflation. The caretaker government has developed measures and much fairer mechanisms to compensate consumers for electricity and gas prices, and it will bring them to Parliament. He will also table the annual budget," he summed up.

The Head of State pointed out that the caretaker cabinet has also drafted the laws on the Recovery and Resilience Plan by guaranteeing funds for major infrastructure projects. Rumen Radev expects these laws to be the focus of the parties as soon as the National Assembly is formed.