Dimitar Glavchev, who once again got nominated for caretaker PM after the surprising dismissal of Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva by President Rumen Radev last week, was sworn in office on Tuesday by the National Assembly. A day earlier, he proposed a new composition for a cabinet with three changes of ministers to president Rumen Radev, who approved it and assigned 27 October as the date of the upcoming early parliamentary election.
The most controversial position - that of interior minister - goes to the national police director Atanas Ilkov. The current deputy foreign minister Ivan Kondov is promoted to head of the MFA, while the minister of transport Georgi Gvozdeykov is replaced by Krasimira Stoyanova, a long-time director of the legal directorate of the ministry. All other ministers from the first Glavchev cabinet retain their current posts in the second government.
End of a crisis
This put an end to the political crisis that threatened to turn into a constitutional one after the president refused to sign the decree appointing the caretaker cabinet proposed by Grancharova-Kozhareva because of her insistence to keep Kalin Stoyanov in it, despite of the protests of most political parties. The reason was the open interaction between MRF's Delyan Peevski and the interior minister, which confirmed the suspicions about the political influence of the MRF co-chair on the Interior Ministry. The replacement of Stoyanov was the red line set by Radev when Glavchev was nominated again as caretaker PM.
After hearing the composition of the government on Monday, Radev thanked Glavchev for heeding the public's calls to "reduce tensions and hold fair elections." Along with this, the president listed the other tasks that Glavchev's second cabinet will have to tackle - "deepening the country's European integration, tackling unemployment, supporting Bulgarian business and improving the investment climate." Radev also pointed out that by the end of the week the new caretaker government should nominate the country's candidate for EU commissioner.
Glavchev on the Interior Minister: "There was no one else"
Glavchev justified the choice of Ilkov as Interior Minister with the argument that he was looking for "a person from within the system so as not to politicize the post." "It turned out that there are not many people in the Interior Ministry who are in such a high position, and there was no one else [willing to take the job," Glavchev said, adding that Ilkov was chosen in "dialogue with the president."
During the BSP-MRF Oresharski government (2013-2014) Ilkov was head of the Criminal Police Department, but resigned and was dismissed after a botched police operation in Lyaskovets, when a commando from the anti-terrorism squad died and three of his colleagues were injured. Ilkov, however, appealed his dismissal and returned to the Interior Ministry as a senior officer in the Plovdiv police department.
During the second caretaker government of Stefan Yanev, also selected by Radev, when Boyko Rashkov was caretaker minister, Ilkov was appointed deputy director of the National Police Directorate General, a position he continued to hold under caretaker Internal Ministers Ivan Demerdzhiev and Kalin Stoyanov.
Career diplomat as Foreign Minister
During one of the last meetings of his first caretaker government, Glavchev joked that if he continued as caretaker PM, he would only replace the foreign minister, i.e. himself. He was juggling with the double role almost from the start of his role as caretaker PM in April, as he dismissed Stefan Dimitrov for a series of gaffes.
In the end, Glavchev replaced himself with career diplomat and current deputy head of the MFA Ivan Kondov. His appointment was expected because he was also proposed for the post by Kozhareva. In his diplomatic career, Kondov has served as ambassador to Spain, was first secretary in Bulgaria's permanent delegation to NATO in Brussels, and permanent secretary at the Foreign Ministry. He was Director of Protocol in the administration of former President Rosen Plevneliev.
The EU Commissioner appointment is pending
Apart from organizing the early election, the second Glavchev cabinet will have another, even more urgent and important task - nominating a Bulgarian representative in the new European Commission. The process has been in a deadlock because of the stalemate in parliament, but the time is running out for Bulgaria to nominate someone for the important post, as the process has to end by the end of the month.
According to different Brussels- and Sofia-based sources, the main contenders for the seat are former Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva (GERB) and former PM and MEP Sergei Stanishev (BSP) Another nomination of a man from the WCC-DB, likely Daniel Lorer MP, is expected by the end of today, but he - and Stanishev - are unlikely to be selected over a gender balance issue, as re-elected Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is likely to push for a female commissioner from Bulgaria to compensate for the higher number of male candidates from other member states.
Dimitar Glavchev, who once again got nominated for caretaker PM after the surprising dismissal of Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva by President Rumen Radev last week, was sworn in office on Tuesday by the National Assembly. A day earlier, he proposed a new composition for a cabinet with three changes of ministers to president Rumen Radev, who approved it and assigned 27 October as the date of the upcoming early parliamentary election.
The most controversial position - that of interior minister - goes to the national police director Atanas Ilkov. The current deputy foreign minister Ivan Kondov is promoted to head of the MFA, while the minister of transport Georgi Gvozdeykov is replaced by Krasimira Stoyanova, a long-time director of the legal directorate of the ministry. All other ministers from the first Glavchev cabinet retain their current posts in the second government.
