Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s Wednesday resignation will affect the political future of the country—saving his party from losing more popularity and forcing an early election—but the long-term effect on the country’s economy may be minimal.
Faced with widespread protest against austerity measures, particularly a hike in by Text-Enhance“ href=”http://cmset.epochtimes.com/view.php?id=113668#">electricity prices, Borisov announced his resignation Wednesday. His resignation is expected to be approved Thursday by Parliament.
Ruslan Stefanov, economic program director at the Center for the Study of Democracy in Bulgaria, said that the factors that have the greatest impact on the nation’s economy have already been decided.
“The budget of the country is clear and EU funds, an important source of fresh public by Text-Enhance“ href=”http://cmset.epochtimes.com/view.php?id=113668#">investment, have been agreed upon with the European Commission, including for the period 2014–2020,” wrote Stefanov in an email.
Short-term economic policy decisions will be impacted, but will not necessarily diverge significantly from decisions Borisov would have made.
“The PM [prime minister] is likely to retain some influence over the work of the caretaker government as it will be appointed by the president (former minister in the PM’s government),” wrote Stefanov.
Borisov’s party, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), holds a majority of the seats in Parliament. Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov told reporters Wednesday that GERB will not partake in talks to form a new government, according to Reuters.
An election was due in July but will thus likely be held early. Political uncertainty reigns, according to Stefanov, as there is no clear contender for the position.
