Patriotic Front

The lead of GERB, Bulgaria's biggest party led by outgoing Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, has shrunk drastically, a fresh survey shows.

The two allies in Bulgaria's outgoing government have abandoned plans to forge a new ruling coalition, tilting the country toward early elections.

"There will be no cabinet. We are not capable of reaching an agreement within the 43rn National Assembly [Parliament]," news website Mediapool.bg quotes the head of the biggest party's parliamentary faction, Tsvetan Tsvetanov.

Bulgarian right-wing party the Reformist Bloc makes its final efforts on Monday to form a new government within the current parliament together with potential coalition partners from the leading centre-right party GERB and the nationalist Patriotic Front coalition, the PF.

Talks on forming a government with the mandate of the Reformist Bloc will continue on Monday.

This became clear after the meeting in Parliament on Friday between representatives of GERB, the Patriotic Front and the Reformist Bloc.

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) has handed back the mandate to form a new government and lead the country out of the current Parliamentary crisis.

"I will not use the opportunity [to form a cabinet," Ninova has said before handing out a statement to Plevneliev to confirm the decision.

Ninova is accompanied by two core BSP members, Angel Naydenov and Zhelyo Boychev.

Right-wing Reformist Bloc (RB) coalition will only make offers on a next cabinet in case the President gives them a mandate to form it, RB officials have said.

The Patriotic Front and the Reformist Bloc will probably not agree although they are ready to meet on the issue of forming a government.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has said he has a strong preference for giving the Reformist Bloc coalition a mandate to form a government.

Plevneliev, in an interview with the public broadcaster's Panorama, has put an end to speculation that he intends on giving the nationalist Patriotic Front coalition a chance to form a government later in December.

External pressure is probably being applied on Bulgaria to avoid the formation of a nationalist-led cabinet, Patriotic Front co-leader Krasimir Karakachanov has said.

In an interview with private bTV broadcaster, he has pointed to the PF's desire to change relations with the EU as the main reason for non-Bulgarian actors to work against a possible cabinet composed by his coalition.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev will begin the last-ditch effort to secure a new government on Friday to avoid a new early election.

Plevneliev will hand over a government mandate to GERB, Bulgaria's biggest party, which has already declared it will return it.