Socialist Coalition Loses in Bulgaria Election - - by Mathew Brunwasser
With nearly two-thirds of the vote counted on Sunday night, Mr. Borisov’s party, the Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria, had 42 percent of the vote, while the Socialist-led coalition had 18 percent, less than had been anticipated. Mr. Borisov will probably be the next prime minister, if negotiations to form a coalition government are successful. Mr. Borisov’s party has become the leading political force in the country, campaigning on promises of change and bringing accountability to government. The incumbents were punished by an electorate fed up over what many viewed as endemic abuse of power in Bulgaria, exacerbated by the country’s deteriorating relationship with the European Union, which it joined on Jan. 1, 2007.
Bulgaria lost 430 million euros — roughly $600 million — in European Union funds last year because of poor government administration and a failure to clean up graft. An additional 300 million euros in European Union funds for Bulgaria had been frozen.
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