|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|
 |
Bulgarian Government Backs Impeachment of President10 Mar 10A dispute between the Bulgarian government and president risks derailing the promulgation of important legislation to get Bulgaria's economy off the ground again; an impeachment, as eyed by the ruling party, is far from certain though.
Hearsay A secret recording between two of Bulgaria's most senior politicians is costing the Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov dearly. Yesterday, Krasimir Velchev—deputy leader of the parliamentary faction of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party—announced that his faction would table a motion for the launch of an impeachment procedure in parliament. The furore centres on events of last week, and highlights the great animosity between the beleaguered, centre-right GERB party and the defiant president Parvanov. On 1 March, a TV presenter asked his guest, Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov, if Parvanov truly was a young billionaire with dozens of luxury properties in the United States, Europe, and Dubai. The question is highly delicate; Bulgaria is grappling with a sharp economic downturn that has significantly reduced the state's leeway with regards to public expenditure, has a considerable problem with corruption in politics, and has one of the European Union's lowest per capita net incomes. These aspects do not sit well with the idea of a rich politician, who—as Parvanov claimed at the start of his second tenure in 2006—would fight for low-income earners and the unemployed. Pressed for a reply, Dyankov replied that Parvanov was "definitely not young", according to Novinite, leaving the question as to whether he was indeed a billionaire unanswered. Dyankov's comments offended Parvanov, who swiftly called for his resignation. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov promptly contrived a meeting between Dyankov and Parvanov in order to resolve the dispute. The GERB party is now incensed about the publication of a transcript of the men's talk on Parvanov's website last Friday (5 March). The GERB needs a two-thirds majority to prompt Parvanov's trial by the Constitutional Court. The request for a trial would need to be lodged within a month of the parliament's support for the GERB party's request. If the court convicted Parvanov of violation of the constitution, his privileges would be suspended. Tug of War There are indeed questions about the legality of the president's office regarding the publication of the transcripts. According to article 32 (2) of the Bulgarian constitution of 1991, "no one shall be followed, photographed, filmed, recorded or subjected to any other similar activity without his knowledge or despite his express disapproval, except when such actions are permitted by law". Parvanov's case was most likely not backed by parliament or by the judiciary. It is not the content of the published transcript that alerted the GERB party as much as the act of publishing it. The GERB most likely regards Parvanov's action as another sign of disrespect for its work in government, and as a means to weaken its standing in public. The GERB party was ushered in back in July 2009, with a mandate to root out corruption, heal the damaged relations between the European Commission and Bulgaria, and get Bulgaria's economy back on its feet. It failed to achieve an absolute majority, however, and refused to form a coalition government. Instead, it relies heavily on the support of the far-right Ataka party and the centre-right Blue Coalition in order to make ends meet. Witch Hunt Borissov made no secret of his goal to rein in misconduct of state officials and politicians; according to the Austrian daily Der Standard, he announced a "witch hunt" on the aforementioned targets in August 2009. Cynics argued that the hunt would be fairly one-sided, affecting predominantly those close to the ousted, former senior ruling party the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), and especially its leader and ex-prime minister Sergei Stanishev (2005–09). Parvanov is considered part of the "old elite"; in office since 2002, he has grown accustomed to reprimanding the government when he deems it necessary. Parvanov is allegedly not whiter than white either, with accusations of accepting bribes from businessmen tainting his image. The tug-of-war between a beleaguered government and an outspoken but allegedly tainted president Parvanov resulted in a serious run-in between Parvanov and Stanishev, and brought Parvanov to the brink of a tabled impeachment motion (see Bulgaria: 23 July 2008: Bulgarian Opposition Parties Remain Divided over Possible Impeachment of President). Seemingly continuing where he left off, Parvanov is locking horns with the government on targets for reform. Although he finally withdrew his veto on the revised State Budget and Tax Acts in December 2009, Parvanov continued to thunder against Dyankov's plans to tax legal representation fees, threatening to call the Constitutional Court in on the issue. Outlook and Implications Barring a last-minute deal between the government and Parvanov's office, the GERB party is likely to table the motion in parliament soon. One thing it has learned from the previous parliament is that to induce Parvanov's impeachment it must strike while it can. Yet it is far from certain that Parvanov will indeed be impeached: The court must agree that he indeed did violate the constitution, which may be more difficult than it seems on paper. Further, the GERB's motion stands at best a 50:50 chance of success. Several senior BSP members still hold a grudge against Parvanov for his dispute with Stanishev during the BSP's tenure in government. But past connections may be useful: prior to becoming president of Bulgaria and thus renouncing on his party allegiance, Parvanov was a member of the BSP. Further, removing Parvanov may only increase the stronghold of its arch-rival GERB party, which has tried to launch investigations into the acts of several ex-BSP ministers in its short tenure. The BSP holds 40 seats in the 240-strong parliament; its closest ally is the Movement for Rights and Freedoms party, which has 38 seats. They may count on the support of the odd opposition deputy here and there to mount a necessary defence wall of one-third against the impeachment motion. The biggest loser in the tug-of-war is the Bulgarian economy; the president ratifies laws passed by parliament, many of which currently centre on the fight against corruption and economic and tax reform measures needed to get Bulgaria's economy off the ground again. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Find out more about Same-day Analysis |
    |
||
| Copyright ©2010 IHS Global Insight | Site Map • Terms of Use • Privacy Policy | |