Gabriel will act as understudy to anti-corruption campaigner Nikolay Denkov, a member of the Academy of Sciences, in a government that looks on paper a boon for the country’s R&D. But judicial reform will be the priority

Former Research Commissioner Mariya Gabriel officially resigned from her post in Brussels on May 15. Photo: Lukasz Kobus / European Union
Recently resigned EU research commissioner Mariya Gabriel is to become Bulgaria’s prime minister in nine months’ time, after first serving as deputy prime minister under Nikolay Denkov, a chemist and member of the country’s Academy of Sciences.
The combination puts Bulgaria in line for its most research-minded government to date, though more pressing issues, notably a tussle over judicial reform, are likely to take centre stage during the 18-month coalition rule.
Gabriel resigned as EU commissioner mid-term after being called up to Sofia from Brussels to help her scandal-ridden GERB party form a…