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Bulgaria's parliament approves new center-right government

Associated Press
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The new Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov speaks in the parliament hall as his new government is approved by lawmakers in Sofia, Friday, Nov. 07, 2014. The former Sofia mayor, whose GERB party won a Oct. 5 election, was prime minister between 2009 and February 2013 when he stepped down amid nationwide social protests that have turned violent. Borisov is the first politician in Bulgaria's recent history to have a second term in office as Prime Minister. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova) (The Associated Press)

The new Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov seen in the parliament hall as his new government was approved by lawmakers in Sofia, Friday, Nov. 07, 2014. The former Sofia mayor, whose GERB party won a Oct. 5 election, was prime minister between 2009 and February 2013 when he stepped down amid nationwide social protests that have turned violent. Borisov is the first politician in Bulgaria's recent history to have a second term in office as Prime Minister. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova) (The Associated Press)

The new Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov seen in the parliament hall as his new government was approved by the lawmakers in Sofia, Friday, Nov. 07, 2014. The former Sofia mayor, whose GERB party won a Oct. 5 election, was prime minister between 2009 and February 2013 when he stepped down amid nationwide social protests that have turned violent. Borisov is the first politician in Bulgaria's recent history to have a second term in office as Prime Minister. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova) (The Associated Press)

Bulgaria's parliament has formally approved the country's new center-right government.

Lawmakers on Friday voted 149-85 to elect 55-year-old Boyko Borisov as the new prime minister.

In a separate vote, legislators also approved the Cabinet — a 16-member minority coalition between Borisov's center-right GERB party and the right-wing Reformist bloc. It will be supported in parliament by the nationalist Patriotic Front and the left-wing ABV party.

The former Sofia mayor, whose GERB party won an Oct. 5 election, was prime minister between 2009 and February 2013, when he stepped down amid nationwide social protests that have turned violent.

Analysts predict a hard time for the new Cabinet, which faces the challenges of pushing through crucial legal reforms, reviving the slow economy and unfreezing blocked EU funds.