Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev approved on August 26 the new caretaker government, which will be headed by Dimitar Glavchev, who served as prime minister in the outgoing interim cabinet. Radev also said he will schedule a snap general election for October 27.

The election will be the seventh since spring 2021, as Bulgaria has repeatedly been left with fragmented parliaments. The country has been ruled during this time by a series of unstable coalition governments and caretaker governments. Polls indicate the upcoming election is unlikely to produce a stable majority for any party. 

Glavchev was nominated for a second term as caretaker prime minister after Radev refused to approved a government proposed by the previously nominated Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva as she wanted to keep Kalin Stoyanov in her team as interior minister, despite objections from the president.

Now Stoyanov, who has been accused of being under the influence of Delyan Peevski, the Magnitsky-sanctioned co-leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), has been replaced by Atanas Ilkov.

Ivan Kondov will enter the government as foreign minister – a position held by Glavchev in his previous cabinet, while Krassimira Stoyanova will replace outgoing interim Transport Minister Georgi Gvozdeykov, who said he wants to leave politics.

Ilkov, who is director of the police, is also seen as controversial figure and has also been accused of dependence on Peevski. Glavchev said there was no one else suitable for the post since not many people working for the interior ministry were willing to become ministers. He also said that the idea of appointing someone from within the system was to pick a politically independent person.