US embassy cable - 05SOFIA333

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.