Bulgaria's GERB, Patriotic Front Agree on Forming New Government

Bulgaria's center-right party GERB, the winner in the early elections on October 05, and the nationalist coalition Patriotic Front have agreed on forming a new government, Wednesday.

GERB, which won 84 seats in Parliament, has discussed opportunities for coalition-building with representatives of the Patriotic Front, a nationalist coalition comprising the IMRO - Bulgarian National Movement (VMRO - Bulgarsko Natsionalno Dvizhenie) and the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria (NFSB), which won 19 seats in Parliament in the early elections.

More than five hours of talks between the negotiating teams ended in an agreement to support GERB's leader Boyko Borisov for the Prime Minister post.

"In terms of the political framework we managed to agree on all points, although the position expressed by the Patriotic Front was different," GERB's Rumyana Buchvarova said after the consultations.

"We have established that we have their consent to sign an agreement to participate in the next government," Buchvarova added as quoted by Darik news.

She noted that the Patriotic Front recognizes the right of the largest political party to appoint its candidates for Prime Minister and chairman of the National Assembly.

GERB and the Patriotic Front will continue to discuss in detail the two party programs. "When it comes to national interest, we should seek what is common," said the Patriotic Front co-chairman Krasimir Karakachanov. "This is a good first step. Our opinion is to seek consensus," he added.