site.btaUPDATED Vice President Confirms PM Donev's Prospects of Heading Next Caretaker Government

Commenting on President Rumen Radev's remark that Galab Donev will remain Prime Minister of the next caretaker government, Vice President Iliana Iotova told Bulgarian National Television on Sunday: "We have never hesitated about Prime Minister Galab Donev".

There has been speculation in the public domain that two candidates are being considered for the Prime Minister's job in the next caretaker government.

Iotova said in the televised interview that the presidential institution is not to blame for the parties' failure to form a new cabinet within the life of the present National Assembly. What the presidential administration has tried to do is restore stability, she added.

April 2 has not been definitively picked as the date for the upcoming early parliamentary elections, according to Iotova. "The President will make a very informed decision," she said.

Asked whether the President will inspire the emergence of a new political project, Iotova said: "Obviously, there are circles in Bulgaria who are afraid of the high rating of the presidential institution and are scared by the thought that the President may decide to start a political project one day. In my discussions with the President over all those years, not for a second has there been any reference to a possible future political project. We are playing our role by using the powers we have under the Constitution. Our main concern is the interest of the people, which is why we enjoy their approval."

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights (CHR) will be notified about the recent assault on Hristian Pendikov, Secretary of the Bulgarian Cultural Centre in Ohrid, North Macedonia, Iotova went on to say. According to her, recent CHR reports seemed to show that the Council of Europe did not believe that people with Bulgarian self-awareness were targets of grave ordeals and discrimination in North Macedonia.

Discussing Sofia's June 2022 decision to lift its veto of the start of EU accession negotiations with Skopje, Iotova said: "Yes, this is certainly important. But it does not mean that Bulgaria considers its job done. On the contrary, we will be very vigilant about such cases [as the Ohrid beating], about the conduct of the Macedonian authorities, about this ongoing hate speech - and all European institutions will be notified about that." The Vice President called for a response by all means, both from the European partners and at the bilateral level.