British News Agency

The political deadlock emerged after GERB leader Boyko Borissov told members of the GERB–UDF parliamentary group and Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov that his party would no longer help secure a quorum in parliament. This raised doubts about whether GERB would remain in the ruling coalition.

Following Borissov’s remarks, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov canceled the regular cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday. Meanwhile, MRF–New Beginning Party leader Delyan Peevski announced that he would support Borissov’s candidacy for the presidency of the National Assembly and that his party was ready to assume its share of responsibility for governing Bulgaria.

The MRF–New Beginning Party is not part of the current ruling coalition, which includes GERB–UDF, the BSP–United Left coalition, and the "There Is Such a People" party.

Deputy Prime Minister and Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Atanas Zafirov said on Thursday that his party was ready to hold talks with coalition partners at the initiative of its leadership bodies but emphasized that such talks and decisions “cannot come at a price.”