From Bulgaria to China: war in Ukraine, but the whole world is shaking

In parallel with the war in Ukraine, Europe is being shaken by its political crises, some of which are connected with our country, and some have their own internal origin.

The prime minister who supported Ukraine was fired in Bulgaria

Bulgaria's parliament passed a vote of no confidence in the country's government. 123 deputies out of 239 voted for the resignation of the Cabinet of Ministers headed by Prime Minister Kirill Petkov. Petkov headed the government just six months ago and took an active pro-European and pro-Euro-Atlantic position.

Petkov's opponents accuse him and his cabinet of insufficient efforts to combat inflation. They also have disagreements on other issues of financial policy. Some analysts believe that Petkov's desire to fight corruption in the government of the poorest EU country influenced the parliament's decision. According to Radio Liberty, earlier Petkov said that the reason for preparing a vote of no confidence was the threat of revealing large-scale corruption schemes in which Bulgarian politicians could be involved.

As for Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, Petkov, despite Bulgaria's long-standing historical ties with Russia, fully supported the position of the European Union and NATO in putting pressure on Moscow. He fired Defense Minister Stefan Yanev, who refused to call the invasion a war, preferring the official Kremlin term “special operation.” Petkov supported EU sanctions against Russia and promised technical assistance to the Ukrainian armed forces.

According to Radio Liberty, it is still unclear who will form the new government and whether early elections will take place. Political analysts believe that after the resignation of the Petkov government, more pro-Russian parties, including the right-wing Vozrozhdeniye party, will make themselves known. This could jeopardize Bulgaria's plans to join the eurozone by 2024 and plans to abandon Russian oil and gas.

In Italy, a split in the pro-Russian party over Ukraine

Foreign Minister In Italy, Luigi Di Maio announced that he was leaving his 5 Star Movement party, which he had previously criticized for not wanting to support Ukraine.

Di Maio last week accused 5 Star Movement leader and former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of undermining the government's efforts to support Ukraine and weakening Rome's position in the European Union.

“We definitely had to choose which sides of history to be on the side of Ukraine, which was attacked, or on the side of the aggressor Russia. The positions of some M5 leaders risked weakening our country,” he said on Tuesday, June 21, in the evening.

According to Di Maio, he will form a new parliamentary group supporting the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, which includes 60 deputies. Thus, out of 227 members of the 5 Star Movement, which in Italy is considered ultra-right and pro-Russian, more than a quarter left the party.

Macron is losing his positions in parliament

The party of French President Emmanuel Macron “Forward, the Republic” lost its majority in the parliament as a result of the second round of the parliamentary elections. Although she won the election, she did not receive the necessary 289 seats to maintain a majority in the National Assembly.

The National Assembly plays a key role in making laws. Also, the majority in the assembly determines the composition of the government, it determines who holds the position of prime minister.

The loss of the majority in parliament will complicate Macron's ability to implement the planned reforms. The president will have to deal with a coalition government (now made up of members of his party) and an opposition prime minister.

The French Republican Party, which was the most likely candidate for a coalition with the party of President Emmanuel Macron, has already refused to ally with it. “We campaigned in opposition, we are in opposition, and we will remain in opposition, everything is very clear. It will be, as we have always done, constructive, but real opposition to Emmanuel Macron, who destroyed everything. His five-year term was a complete failure,” the leader said. Republican Christian Jacob.

If Macron's party does not create a majority coalition, this will lead to a period of political uncertainty due to the division of power between parties, which has not happened in France for more than a decade. In a pessimistic scenario, a parliamentary crisis may begin in France and, as a result, repeated parliamentary elections will be scheduled.

Israel holds its fifth election in three years

Elections will be held again in Israel – for the fifth time in the last three years. On Monday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that he would dissolve the Knesset next week, dismissing the government. Thus, months of trying to maintain an eight-party coalition failed.

– My friend Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and I decided to work together to dissolve the Knesset and hold new elections at the agreed time. To transfer power in an organized manner, ensuring the national interests of the State of Israel,” Bennett said. Until the elections, Yair Lapid will act as prime minister.

Talk about the collapse of the motley government coalition has been going on in Israel for several weeks. The coalition of eight parties could not agree on a fundamental issue – the extension of the document according to which Jewish settlements in the West Bank live according to the laws of Israel, and not the Palestinian Authority. As a result of these elections, Benjamin Netanyahu hopes to return to power.

China is probing Taiwan

On June 22, 29 Chinese aircraft entered Taiwan's air defense zone. They were 17 fighters and six H-6 bombers.

The bombers, accompanied by an electronic warfare aircraft and a reconnaissance aircraft, flew to the Bashi Strait separating Taiwan from the Philippines, then returned to China along the same route. Taiwan sent its warplanes to warn the Chinese planes.

Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said earlier that a large-scale Chinese military exercise showed that China's military threat is “greater than ever.” And here, it is possible that Beijing's aggression was fueled by Russia's attack on Ukraine.