STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [And he won't be the last] "Kostov, credited with having begun to prepare his country for membership of the EU amd NATO, is to be replaced as party leader...." Bulgarian Premier Quits as Party Head After Ballot Rout SOFIA, Jun 26, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) Outgoing Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov on Tuesday stepped down as head of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) after the coalition it headed was routed in June 17 parliamentary elections. Kostov's party was the main force in the United Democratic Forces coalition which has run Bulgaria for four years, and is credited in the West with launching painful reforms needed to prepare Bulgaria for western integration. The elections were won by the National Movement Simeon II, set up only two months ago by the country's former king Simeon II, returned from 55 years in exile. His movement won exactly half the seats in parliament. Kostov's party has not ruled out forming a coalition with the ex-king. Analysts have said that the outgoing prime minister's resignation could make such a deal easier since Kostov was openly critical of Simeon during the poll race. The UDF was due to make a decision on the possible move later Tuesday, according to party officials cited by the BTA news agency. Popular Sofia Mayor Stefan Sofiyanski, a leading member of the UDF and at one point tipped to become prime minister, has repeatedly said that the party "must become part of the government." The former king's movement and the UDF "share the same values," he said. Sofiyanski on Tuesday criticized Kostov for his "misguided policy in the area of taxation and revenues," in an attack which also slammed the former party head's leadership style. "Discipline in the UDF came down to not speaking your mind.... I'm a free man and I want to be in a party of free men," he added. Kostov, credited with having begun to prepare his country for membership of the EU and NATO, is to be replaced as party leader by Ekaterina Mikhailova, parliamentary leader of the party in the last government. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
