[05SOFIA333] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER RESHUFFLES CABINET ON EVE OF NATO SUMMIT

Published by Wikileaks & Bivol.bg

 id: 27394 date: 2/21/2005 16:42 refid: 05SOFIA333 origin: Embassy Sofia classification: UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY destination: 05SOFIA288 header: This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.    ----------------- header ends ----------------  UNCLAS SOFIA 000333    SIPDIS      SENSITIVE    S/ES PLEASE REPEAT SECTO  USNATO PLEASE PASS TO SECRETARY'S PARTY    E.O. 12958: N/A  TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ETRD, BU, NATO  SUBJECT: BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER RESHUFFLES CABINET ON  EVE OF NATO SUMMIT    REF:  SOFIA 0288    1. (SBU) Summary.  As he departed for Brussels on  February 21, Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha  sacked three cabinet ministers, including his  influential Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of  Economy, Lydia Shuleva.  Shuleva's departure was  expected in the wake of last week's confidence vote,  which the government survived after cutting a deal with  the break-away New Time party (reftel).  New Time  reportedly demanded Shuleva's ouster and at least one  cabinet position; it got both.  Energy Minister  Kovachev will take Shuleva's place as head of the  Economy Ministry, and New Time leader Miro Sevlievski  will get the Energy Ministry.  The cabinet reshuffle is  part of a pre-election domestic political drama; we see  no significant implications for Bulgarian foreign or  security policy.  End summary.    2. (SBU) In addition to Shuleva, the PM also fired the  very unpopular Minister of Culture, Bozhidar Abrashev,  and the Minister of Agriculture, Mehmed Dikme.  Abrashev had been vying with Regional Development  Minister Tserovski for the unofficial title of the  cabinet's worst minister, and he will not be missed  domestically or internationally.  Dikme's record was  also mixed, but his greatest sin appears to have been  his refusal to tow the line of his patron, the leader  of the mostly ethnic-Turkish Movement for Rights and  Freedoms (MRF).  Nihat Kabil, an MRF member who was  formerly Dikme's deputy and will now be the new  agriculture minister, is reportedly less likely to  question the policies of the government's junior  coalition partner.  Nina Chilova, a releative non-  entity, will head the Ministry of Culture, which also  takes over the tourism portfolio from the Ministry of  Economy.  As consolation for losing her cabinet  position, Shuleva will head the ruling party's  reelection campaign.  All cabinet changes must be  approved by parliament, where they government now has a  comfortable majority.    3. (SBU) Comment.  This cabinet reshuffle is a quidpro  quo for New Time's decision to support the gvernment  in last week's vote of confidence.  We ee no  substantive changes in Bulgarian foreign policy -- and  certainly none with regard to Iraq --as a result of  this reshuffling of personnel.  T the extend there is  an impact on U.S. interests it comes from the loss of  Shuleva, one of the mst forceful members of the  cabinet.  Shuleva, howver, has not always been easy to  work with, so i is unclear whether her departure will  be a plus or a minus for U.S. interests.  The main  issues on which we deal with the Ministry of Economy  are trade policy, protection of intellectual property,  and arms export controls. 

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