Bulgarians set to turn to their king

Oppressed for decades by drab communists and suffering now from the belt-tightening of their centre-right leaders, Bulgarians look ready to turn to royalty on Sunday when they elect a new parliament.

A new party led by Bulgaria’s ex-king, Simeon II, has taken a comfortable lead in opinion polls even though the former monarch back after five decades in exile has refused to say whether he would deign to become prime minister.

Instead, he’s promising to create jobs and spur investment in a country where living standards are plummeting and average wages barely top £70 a month.

‘‘Give me 800 days and I’ll improve your life,’’ he said in April when he launched his National Movement Simeon II , which is running candidates with little or no political background.

After four years of wrenching market-oriented reforms by the outgoing Union of Democratic Forces government, Bulgaria is fertile ground for the ex-king’s promises to ease citizens’ burdens.

Prime Minister Ivan Kostov’s centre-right coalition won a comfortable majority in 1997, with 137 out of 240 seats in parliament. That enabled him to push through unpopular measures to stabilise the currency and boost economic growth, which reached 5.8% last year.

But support for the ruling party has dwindled because the reforms have yet to substantially improve living standards, and public investment has been low since Bulgaria is still burdened with paying off about £700 million in foreign debt.

Much of Simeon’s appeal reflects the general antipathy toward the current political elite, whose image also has been damaged by widespread accusations of corruption.

‘‘I will vote for Simeon, because I believe that he can bring a new morality in politics,’’ said Maria Dimitrova, a mother of two daughters who works in public transport.

The proposals by Simeon’s party include higher wages, zero tax on reinvested profits, a balanced budget, less corruption and projects to cut the unemployment rate that stands at 18%.

‘‘We want to create such conditions in this country, that young people prefer to stay here instead of looking for jobs abroad,’’ said Nikolai Vasilev, an economic adviser to Simeon.

The ex-king, who returned this year after leaving the country in 1946 when he was nine, had his hopes dashed for a run in this autumn’s presidential election when a high court ruled candidates must have lived in Bulgaria for at least five years.

Simeon could become prime minister if his movement wins a majority in parliament, but he has refused to say whether he would take the post.

Observers think he may wait to see if his supporters in parliament can change the law to let him run for president, since being head-of-state might be more fitting for a royal.