Bulgaria is heading towards a new snap general election, after Gerb unexpectedly ended coalition talks with Democratic Bulgaria (DB), the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and populist There Are Such People (ITN) late on January 5.

The decision came after weeks of talks, which on January 4 were understood to have been successful, and were expected to produce a four-party coalition and a regular government.

However, on January 5, Gerb said in a statement it is ending the negotiations as DB rejected its two proposals for prime minister – the party’s leader Boyko Borissov and one of his most loyal party members, former parliament speaker Rossen Zhelyazkov.

Gerb provided no further explanations, and DB had not reacted by the time this article was published.

The second-largest formation in parliament after Gerb — Change Continues-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) — has little chance to form a pro-Western government, and the chances of success with the third mandate are also close to zero. 

This means that the country will hold another general election in the spring — the eighth since spring 2021. 

Gerb and DB launched talks on a possible ruling coalition on December 20. CC decided not to participate unless Gerb agreed to sign a declaration on creating a “sanitary cordon” around Delyan Peevski, the Magnitsly-sanctioned leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS).

Gerb declared that it would not enter in coalition with Peevski, but refused to sign the declaration, which also includes a set of reforms.

DB, on the other hand, said it would not sign a coalition agreement with Gerb if it did not include all the reforms from the declaration. For DB, a key priority is the reform of the law on judiciary.

On January 2, Gerb and DB officially included the BSP and ITN in the coalition talks and discussed the draft coalition agreement, as well as mechanisms for decision-making.

Meanwhile, a poll carried out by Alpha Research showed that Bulgarians are pessimistic about the development of Bulgaria in 2025 but are optimistic for their personal future. Just 7% of respondents said that Bulgaria changed for the better in 2024.

40% of Bulgarians believe that the crises will deepen, while 28% expect prosperity and more opportunities in 2025.