Bulgarian Economist Replaces Hard-Line Leader

Parliament on Saturday elected an economist to replace a hard-line Communist as prime minister, and the new leader promised immediate reforms to combat Bulgaria’s “social and economic crisis.”

Petar Beron, a leader of the emerging democratic opposition, described the new prime minister, Andrei Lukanov, as “a good choice” and left open the possibility that some opposition members might join a coalition government.

The election, the latest development in a wave of changes, came one day after the Communist Party expelled many of the old orthodox Communists and picked another advocate of change as party chief.

Lukanov’s government is scheduled to hold power until free elections are held in May.

The National Assembly unanimously chose Lukanov as prime minister after accepting the resignation of Georgi Atanassov and his 22-member Cabinet.

Lukanov, a 51-year-old economist with years of experience in government and Communist Party politics, said he is accepting the post at a time of “moral and economic crisis.”

He later told reporters that his new government will liberalize the news media. He asked for “constructive criticism by the press” and “complete objectivity.”

Apparently to underline the new leadership’s more open media policy, Filip Bokov announced his resignation as head of state radio and television, a position he has held for less than three months.

The official news agency BTA said the reason for his resignation was his appointment to the new Communist Party Presidium.

Lukanov and his reform-minded colleagues--new party chief Alexander Lilov and President Petar Mladenov--face public skepticism about their commitment to reform, as well as their ability to handle a flagging economy hobbled by unprecedented labor unrest.

“We have to make fundamental economic reforms, and we have to do it immediately,” he said. “The social and economic crisis is now the most important thing, and it is the most important task to come out of the crisis.” He said he will detail his recovery plan in a speech to the National Assembly on Thursday.