Parliament's second failed attempt to elect a speaker
The National Assembly today made another unsuccessful attempt to elect a parliamentary speaker and begin its official work, thus remaining blocked until Friday, when the next vote will take place. The scenario from Monday repeated itself: out of the five nominees, the candidates from GERB and WCC-DB -Raya Nazaryan and Andrey Tsekov-received the most votes but still fell short of getting the speakership.
Boyko Borissov, leader of GERB, the largest political force, held several meetings with parties today. He subsequently announced that he is unwilling to make concessions regarding either GERB's candidate for parliamentary speaker or his own bid to be prime minister.
Sofia Mayor responds obliquely to Spasi Sofia conditions
Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev did not reply directly to the conditions set by Spasi Sofia yesterday for sustaining the coalition running the capital. These were announced rather unexpectedly yesterday since Boris Bonev's formation is currently governing the capital and many of the measures implemented depend on them as much as they do on WCC-DB.
Speaking to BNT, Terziev described himself as a reasonable person who doesn't yield to demands. He added that work is currently underway on all key priorities identified by Spasi Sofia yesterday. Terziev expressed uncertainty about the timing of these issues raised.
"We'll see if we stay together. I cannot control the actions of others," was the mayor's concise response to Bonev's warning that they might leave the coalition with WCC-DB if the municipality deviates from implementing the measures they insist on.
MoE proposes patriotism lessons in school
The Bulgarian Ministry of Education is considering the introduction of an "innovative" subject focused on patriotism, aimed at fostering pride and competency among Bulgarian students. This initiative was announced by the interim Minister of Education, Galin Tsokov, at a forum dedicated to a new conceptual program titled The Untold Stories of Bulgarians.
"We are considering gradually transforming this program into an innovative subject focused on patriotism and ancestral memory research within innovative schools," said the minister. The new subject is intended to potentially become part of the standard curriculum in all schools.
According to Tsokov, the program represents a "new educational model that shifts from standard learning to the development of skills and competencies through participation and experience". How exactly these "patriotism" classes will nurture "competent Bulgarians", as intended by the ministry, remains to be seen.
Parliament's second failed attempt to elect a speaker
The National Assembly today made another unsuccessful attempt to elect a parliamentary speaker and begin its official work, thus remaining blocked until Friday, when the next vote will take place. The scenario from Monday repeated itself: out of the five nominees, the candidates from GERB and WCC-DB -Raya Nazaryan and Andrey Tsekov-received the most votes but still fell short of getting the speakership.
