The Bulgarian Socialist Party appears determined to trash its political rivals - mainly Boiko Borissov, but also the fledgling right-wing coalition of the Union of Democratic Forces and the Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria - by exploiting Sofia’s refuse crisis and by a last-minute rewrite of election rules.

In an opening skirmish in the battle for victory in this summer’s national parliamentary elections - elections for which, as yet, no date has been set - Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev led his Cabinet to declare a "state of crisis" because of serious inadequacies in dealing with the capital city’s refuse.

Borissov has been mayor of Sofia since late 2005 and, polls suggest, is well-placed to lead his party the Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria into a majority share of government, with himself as prime minister.

The "state of crisis" has been widely interpreted as a political stunt by the current coalition Cabinet to discredit Borissov by portraying him as incapable of keeping the city clean. Daily Dnevnik described the Cabinet move as a "stunt" while, a day after the Cabinet decision, mass-circulation daily 24 Chassa reported that a snap poll by Alfa Research had found that 81 per cent of Bulgarians saw the decree as a campaign trick.

"There is no crisis in Sofia," Borissov said on April 9, although ensuing days saw media reports of city residents contacting the "national crisis staff" set up by the Government to ask teams to be sent to collect piled-up refuse or remove illegal dumps of rubbish.

There was a media spectacle late at night on April 11 as Stanishev conducted an "inspection tour" of refuse problem areas in central Sofia, accompanied by journalists, but the event went off-script as right-wing city councillors and some residents jeered Stanishev with cries of "mafia!" and "resign!".

A particular controversial aspect of the Government intervention in the refuse saga has been the hiring of Sofia’s former waste collection concession-holder Novera, which Borissov has alleged has questionable links.

Borissov took the Cabinet decision to the Supreme Administrative Court, appealing for it to be overruled. The court confirmed on April 14 that it had opened proceedings at the request of the city council.

The BSP also seemed preoccupied with doing all it could against the right-wing UDF-DSB coalition. Polls suggest that the coalition could get just a few seats, but its potential role as a coalition partner for Borissov has made it a target.

Governing coalition parties the BSP and Movement for Rights and Freedoms eagerly endorsed in Parliament a proposal by minority right-wing MP Yane Yanev doubling the electoral threshold for coalitions to eight per cent - a move that could obliterate the UDF-DSB coalition hopes. However, uncertainty prevailed after, on April 15, President Georgi Purvanov vetoed this amendment.

A day later, a court refused on technical grounds to register recently-elected UDF leader Martin Dimitrov, leaving Dimitrov and the right-wing coalition plan open to being scuttled by right-wing MPs who oppose it. (For further details, please see page 4.)

Other last-minute amendments to election laws caused controversy, including the introduction of an element of first-past-the-post voting into Bulgaria’s otherwise proportional representation method of electing MPs, meaning that 31 out of 240 members of Parliament would be elected as individuals, while BSP figures are also conducting a whispering campaign against Borissov saying that GERB’s ratings are falling.

Stanishev, appearing at an April 14 photo opportunity for the signing of a BSP-dominated coalition for Bulgaria’s June 7 European Parliament elections, rejected allegations that his Cabinet was politicising Sofia’s refuse issue. The Cabinet was seeking a reasonable solution to a problem important to Sofia residents, an issue on which Borissov had failed, Stanishev said.