Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria
| Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria Граждани за европейско развитие на България |
|
|---|---|
| Leader | Boyko Borisov |
| Founded | 3 December 2006 |
| Headquarters | Sofia |
| Ideology | Conservatism,[1] Populism[2][3][4] |
| Political position | Centre-right[2] |
| International affiliation | None |
| European affiliation | European People's Party |
| European Parliament Group | European People's Party |
| Official colours | Blue |
| National Assembly: |  |
| European Parliament: |  |
| Website | |
| http://www.gerb.bg/ | |
| Politics of Bulgaria Political parties Elections |
|
Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Граждани за европейско развитие на България, Grazhdani za evropeysko razvitie na Balgariya), abbreviated GERB (Bulgarian: ГЕРБ, meaning "coat of arms"), is a Bulgarian centre-right political party established on March 13 2006. It has been Bulgaria's ruling party since 2009.
GERB is headed by Boyko Borisov [5], the current Prime Minister of Bulgaria, former mayor of Sofia, and former bodyguard of the Bulgarian communist leader Todor Zhivkov and ex-Tsar Simeon II. The establishment of the party follows the creation of a non-profit organization with the acronym (in Bulgarian) GERB — Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, earlier the same year. The name of the party is not stated to be an acronym, but is spelled in upper-case nonetheless.
In early January 2007[6] and early February 2007,[7] it came second in public polls on party support with around 14%, trailing the Bulgarian Socialist Party which had around 25%; its stated priorities are fighting crime and corruption, preserving family as the cornerstone of society and achieving energy independence.
Sofia Mayor Boyko Borisov's party GERB won Bulgaria's Parliamentary Elections on Sunday, July 5, 2009. According to the parallel vote counting GERB has received 39.7%.
GERB won the 2007 European Parliament election in Bulgaria, the first time Bulgaria elected Members of the European Parliament, with 21.69% or 419,301 votes. The party elected five MEPs and joined the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament (in the EPP section). On June 6, 2007 GERB applied formally to join as a member-party the European People's Party (EPP)[8] and joined EPP on February 7, 2008.[9]
On September 4, 2011 GERB announced its candidates for President and Vice President of Bulgaria - Rosen Plevneliev and Margarita Popova, both of whom won the elections.[10]
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b Hope, Kerin; Troev, Theodor (10 June 2009), "Populist promises to clean up Bulgaria", Financial Times, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0000bf88-55f0-11de-ab7e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1h0YFnzEr, retrieved 19 December 2011
- ^ Novaković, Igor (2010), "“European” and “Extreme” Populists in the Same Row – the New Government of the Republic of Bulgaria", Western Balkans Security Observer (ISAC Fund) (17), http://www.isac-fund.org/download/academic/Bezbednost-zap-balkana-Bugari-eng.pdf, retrieved 19 December 2011
- ^ Cristova, Christiana (2010), "Populism: the Bulgarian case", Sociedade e Cultura (Goiânia) 13 (2): 221-232, http://www.revistas.ufg.br/index.php/fchf/article/download/13426/8664, retrieved 19 December 2011
- ^ ГЕРБ, Председател (Bulgarian). Retrieved 22-07-2010
- ^ "Socialists Lead GERB in Bulgarian Politics: Angus Reid Global Monitor". www.angus-reid.com. http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/14267. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
- ^ "Socialists Gain, GERB Second in Bulgaria: Angus Reid Global Monitor". www.angus-reid.com. http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/14698. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
- ^ "Official web-site of GERB". gerb-bg.com. http://gerb-bg.com/index1.php?menu=news&id_news=50. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
- ^ "Bulgaria's GERB joins European People's Party (SETimes.com)". www.setimes.com. http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2008/02/08/nb-06. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
- ^ Bulgaria's GERB puts up popular minister for president, TrustLaw, 4 September 2011