The new Bulgarian president, Rosen Plevneliev, was inaugurated last Sunday. His inauguration ended Bulgaria’s sometimes conflictual period of cohabitation.

Yesterday, Novinite reports, the president and the prime minister, Boyko Borisov, agreed the appointment of 24 new Ambassadors.

There has been an ongoing issue concerning the continuing presence of public officials who formerly served as State Security agents during the communist regime. Allegedly, some of the existing Ambassadors had such a background.

This issue has been particularly politicised because of former President Parvanov’s admittal that there was a State Security file on him and of allegations that he too was a State Security agent.

So, I suspect it is not a coincidence that almost immediately after coming to power and the end of cohabitation, President Plevneliev and PM Borisov have agreed a new set of ambassadorial appointments. This is an issue that requires the president’s approval. We should also expect to see a sharp decline in the number of presidential vetoes.