Government Coalition Negotiations To Continue Overnight

After GERB got a mandate to form a government and its leader Boyko Borisov pledged to have it formed by Thursday morning or to return the mandate, the four-party negotiations are set to continue through the night.

Having secured the support of the Reformist Bloc (RB), which nominated six ministers, the centre-right GERB is seeking the support of the nationalist coalition Patriotic Front (PF) and the party of the former Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, ABV. According to media reports, the latter would also have a ministerial seat.

RB's co-chairman Radan Kanev said in Parliament in front of journalists that Wednesday's talks are focused on governance programme and policies, rather than on ministerial nominees.

The PF co-chairman Valeri Simeonov told journalists that some of their proposals was included in the governance programme, but did not say if PF would vote in favour of GERB's bid to form a government.

ABV's Ivaylo Kalfin told journalists that his party will not sign a coalition agreement, but a governance programme. According to him, GERB accepted many of ABV's proposals, particularly on tax and social policies and the pension reform.

Kalfin added that the talks are not discussing ministerial seats.

At the same time however, Rumen Petkov, also of ABV, said his party will make a public statement on whether it will support the GERB government on Thursday.

"Nothing is clear, until everything is clear," GERB's Tomislav Donchev told journalists on his way to the meeting room after a brief intermission on Wednesday evening and added that the negotiations will continue "until necessary".