European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel tipped to be Bulgaria’s next prime minister

Mariya Gabriel, the European Commissioner for innovation and research, has been nominated by the centre-right GERB party to be Bulgaria’s next prime minister in what appears to be a technocratic bet to help the country overcome years of political instability.

The nomination was confirmed on Wednesday morning by Boyko Borisov, the controversial former prime minister and current leader of the GERB party, who said Gabriel’s present tasks covered topics that had a prominent presence in the party’s priorities, according to Euronews Bulgaria.

Borisov also said talks would focus on securing the necessary votes to successfully appoint a new GERB-led government. The centre-right party won 69 seats in the last parliamentary elections, well short of the 121 seats required to form a majority.

This means Gabriel, if successful in her bid, will lead a coalition government with like-minded parties.

A fluent French-speaking official, Gabriel has served as European Commissioner since 2017, when she replaced Kristalina Georgieva, now the head of the International Monetary Fund, as commissioner in charge of the digital economy and society.

After the arrival of Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, Gabriel was assigned a beefed-up portfolio of innovation, research, culture, education and youth, which includes the €95.5 billion Horizon Europe programme and the Erasmus student exchange.

Prior to that, the 43-year-old had served as Member of the European Parliament, sitting with the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the largest formation in the hemicycle.

Gabriel’s exit from Brussels is expected to result in her portfolio being temporarily assigned to another European Commissioner while Bulgaria comes up with a new candidate to replace her.

The candidate will have to undergo a confirmation before the European Parliament.

Reacting to the news, EPP President Manfred Weber said Gabriel had “the experience and international authority to overcome the political stalemate in Sofia.”

“Full support for our sister party GERB-Udf for putting the interests of the country first,” Weber tweeted on Wednesday morning.

Bulgarian politics have suffered from instability in recent years, going through four different prime ministers, including Borisov, and five parliamentary elections since 2021.