Bulgaria has given Boiko Borissov a mandate for change.

In the same election, it rejected the Bulgarian Socialist Party’s record of inertia and tardiness in addressing the financial and economic crisis and its failure to act adequately against organised crime and corruption, much as the electorate issued a rejection slip in 2005 after Simeon Saxe-Coburg’s government failed to live up to its promise of a better life for all Bulgarians.

With a majority sufficient to govern, Borissov need waste no time awaiting the European Commission report on Bulgaria’s performance in justice and home affairs, nor need his administration wait for the latest economic indicators before taking action. Fortunately, it does not appear that he is dragging his heels.

As mayor of the capital city, Borissov showed no reluctance to axe those who failed to perform. If he continues this policy and combines it with acceptance of full responsibility for the conduct of his administration, there is a strong chance that much-needed further reforms will be seen to take effect.

Borissov’s economic team will be well advised, once they have conducted their intended check of the actual state of the public coffers, to proceed urgently to make government spending more efficient. In some cases this may well mean reductions, but in other cases it will mean optimum use of resources to meet important needs in education, health care, infrastructure and initiatives to make Bulgaria’s business environment a better one for SMEs and entrepreneurial and foreign investment initiatives.

Borissov has been careful not to make rash promises about what his government will be capable of achieving. This may be a lesson learnt from the immediate past two administrations, but also is an acknowledgment of the reality that even without bold promises, expectations about what his government may achieve are high.

Failure to meet expectations will carry immediate political penalties, and it must be acknowledged that much rides on Bulgaria being administered by a stable, predictable and dynamic government during the incoming term of office.

Naturally, another priority will be sorting out the mess that is European Union funds, and it is interesting that Borissov has indicated that he will scrap the "super-ministry" set up under the outgoing administration to solve this dire problem. As in other cases, the incoming administration has several mistakes made by its predecessors from which it may learn.

It is now within Borissov’s power, with sufficient force of will and application of the best minds in his team, to achieve change we can believe in.