Borisov nominated European Commissioner Maria Gabriel as Prime Minister of Bulgaria

Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has nominated the European Commissioner for Innovation Maria Gabriel as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria, in an effort to overcome years of political crisis in the country.

Borisov confirmed today that his center-right party GERB will propose that Gabriel be the head of the new government, since no party has managed to secure a majority to form a stable government after five consecutive elections, Brussels portal Politiko reports.

Although it received the most support in the elections at the beginning of April, the GERB party received only about 25 percent of the vote, which means that Borisov would have to form a coalition with the reformist alliance, which primarily advocates the fight against corruption.

Marija Gabriel was a member of the European Parliament, vice-president of the European People's Party (EPP), the largest group in the EP, and a commissioner for two terms.

In Jean-Claude Juncker's European Commission, she was in charge of the digital economy and society, and at that time, at the age of 38, she was the youngest European commissioner.

In Ursula von der Leyen's commission, she was elected commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth, whose competence includes the Horizon and Erasmus programs.

European People's Party President Manfred Weber said that the EPP "warmly" welcomes her nomination as the future Prime Minister of Bulgaria.

"She has the experience and international authority to overcome the political deadlock in Sofia. Full support for our sister party GERB-UDF to put the country's interests first," Weber wrote on Twitter.

Since April 2021, when the last regular parliamentary elections were held, Bulgarians have gone to the polls five times, but the sharp polarization between the parties and the insufficient strength of each of them prevented the formation of a stable government.