Bulgaria Edges Closer to Snap Vote as Cabinet Attempt Fails

(Bloomberg) -- A Bulgarian minority government backed by former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s Gerb party failed to win support in parliament on Wednesday, extending the nation’s political crisis.

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Prime Minister-designate Rosen Zhelyazkov, an ex-parliament speaker backed by Gerb, the winner of a snap vote held last month, didn’t garner enough support during a parliament vote on Wednesday, Speaker Raya Nazaryan said. Should further attempts fail, Bulgaria would be headed to its seventh election in just over three years.

President Rumen Radev is now due to hand the mandate to try to form a government to the second-biggest faction in parliament, led by a former media mogul seen by many as the face of corruption in the country, Delyan Peevski.

If that attempt also fails, a third faction will have an attempt to win approval for a cabinet before a new election is called.

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