DSB party

A "non-partisan", right-wing alliance called New Republic (originally "Nova Republika") is to be formally launched on Tuesday, seeking to offer an alternative to GERB party of Boyko Borisov in the coming election.

Radan Kanev, the leader of DSB party which broke away from the Reformist Bloc, is the driving force behind the project.

As Bulgaria's presidential candidates have been trading increasingly vicious blows bidding to become the next head of state on Sunday, an issue that long dominated the public debate has resurfaced: the division of "communists" and "anti-communists" in the public space.

MPs from senior government partner GERB are set to meet with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov to voice their concerns about executive offices taken by members of the DSB party.

The Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) is part of the Reformist Bloc coalition, a coalition partner to GERB, but moved into opposition in December.

A committee of lawmakers is to hold a hearing of candidates to take over as members of the Commission for the Protection of Competition, Bulgaria's anti-monopoly watchdog.

Parliament is to carry through the procedure despite concerns raised Radan Kanev, the leader of DSB party, and subsequently by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov that the election might be flawed.

Tsvetan Tsvetanov, leader of the MPs from the main party in the governing coalition, GERB, has been elected chairman of the Domestic Security and Public Order Commission in Parliament, replacing Atanas Atanasov.  

As lawmakers are set to vote on the candidacy of Meglena Kuneva to become Bulgaria's next Education Minister, it is not clear how much support she will gain.

Kuneva was endorsed by junior coalition partner Reformist Bloc after Prime Minister Boyko Borisov asked her successor, Todor Tanev, to resign amid controversy that a draft school curriculum sparked in society.

The cabinet of Bulgaria has refused to urge the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS), the high decisonmaking body of the judiciary, to step down, despite criticism against it in the EU Commission's report published Wednesday.

Governing parties demanded a day earlier that the VSS dissolve itself, amid a number of scandals involving its members over the past days.

Petar Moskov's decision to carry on as Health Minister after his DSB party withdrew its support for Bulgaria's coalition government is a personal choice and cannot be interpreted as "a DSB minister in the cabinet", DSB leader Radan Kanev has said.

The Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) of Radan Kanev are meeting on Saturday to decide whether or not to remain in the government.

Kanev, whose DSB party is part of junior coalition ally Reformist Bloc (RB), is also to discuss the possibility of "withdrawing" its Health Minister Petar Moskov from the cabinet.

The Reformist Bloc (RB), the junior coalition partner in Bulgaria's minority government, is set to announce on Tuesday whether or not to go on supporting the cabinet, a RB co-chair has said.