Following the narrow victory of his populist There is Such a People (ITN) party in Bulgaria's parliamentary elections on Sunday, the entertainer Slavi Trifonov has withdrawn his nominee for the post of prime minister after it was heavily criticized.
Trifonov also announced he had decided to adjust the composition of the minority government he unilaterally put forward.
"The country is already unstable and does not need another election," Trifonov wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
The popular entertainer surprised many by proposing a minority government immediately after the election, apparently without consulting the other opposition parties about his plan.
Under the proposal, the prime minister in an ITN government was to be Nikolay Vasilev, a well-respected economic and financial expert. Vasilev served as Bulgaria's deputy prime minister from 2001 to 2003, and was also a minister in two successive governments between 2001 and 2009.
Critics were quick to complain that Vasilev was an all-too-familiar face in Bulgarian politics and hardly represented the change promised by the opposition.
The conservative GERB party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the Bulgarian Socialist Party - the successor organization to the communist party - both added their voices to the chorus of disapproval.
"In just three days, there has been a great deal of mud slinging," Trifonov complained.Bulgarians elected a new parliament on Sunday for the second time in just over 100 days.
Trifonov's ITN narrowly won the election with 24.08 per cent of the vote - just ahead of Borisov's GERB with 23.51 per cent.
Six parties will enter parliament without an obvious coalition emerging. Observers haven't ruled out another parliamentary election this autumn, when Bulgaria will also hold its presidential elections.
