BULGARIA-PM Calls Election For 2 Oct, Little Sign Of Stable Gov't Post-Vote

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has called a parliamentary election for 2 October, following the collapse of PM Kiril Petkov's four-party coalition gov't in June. This will be the fourth parliamentary election in Bulgaria since April 2021.

• The broad pro-EU coalition fell apart following internal arguments about the state budget, gov't debt, and anti-corruption efforts led to the withdrawal of the populist 'There Is Such A People' (ITN) party.
• The main opposition conservative GERB-SDS of former PM Boyko Borisov holds a narrow lead over Pektov's liberal pro-EU 'We Continue the Change' movement.
• There is likely to be some concern around the election in Brussels, with the far-right Revival party looking set to make gains, as is the pro-Russia, pro-Putin Bulgaria Rise party of former Defence Minister Stefan Yanev. Western partners likely to take a keen interest in the vote to ensure no foreign interference in the electoral process.
• Broadly, polls show that no party is set to win a majority, and given the broad split in the vote share between varying parties opposed to working with one another there is the prospect of continued political inertia if no stable coalition can be formed.