Bulgaria's political crisis, which has persisted for years due to repeated elections without conclusive results, may continue as the country's ruling Gerb party has put talks on hold to form a coalition government. The deadlock has hampered the country's efforts to join the Schengen area and adopt the euro in 2024, as well as delayed European Union recovery funding.
Last week, the two main parties agreed to run the country together, alternating prime ministers every nine months. This was meant to break the stalemate that had been going on since 2021. However, Gerb's premier-designate, Mariya Gabriel, announced on Saturday that the talks were frozen. The reason for this was the publication of leaked wiretaps allegedly revealing We Continue the Change party's strategy of administrative appointments following consultations with foreign embassies. Although party leaders have not denied the conversation's authenticity, they have rejected accusations of wrongdoing.
Gabriel, a former EU commissioner, stressed that there must be "clear guarantees for adhering to the powers of the institutions and the fundamentals and the principles of the Bulgarian country" and demanded that the country's corruption problems be tackled. Bulgaria has repeatedly faced criticism from both the EU and the US over its inability to meet rule-of-law standards. The country has been labeled one of the bloc's most corrupt.
The recent recording scandal came after months of anti-corruption protests and graft scandals that led to Borissov's downfall, who had been in power on and off for more than a decade. Petkov's government was toppled less than eight months after he assumed office, after one of his coalition partners withdrew their support. However, Gabriel noted that freezing the negotiations did not necessarily end them. This has left the possibility for continuing talks if the parties can come to an agreement on principles to tackle corruption and adhere to the country's institutions' powers.