Bulgaria opposition leader worried about budget gap

SOFIA (Reuters) - The leader of Bulgaria's opposition GERB party, which according to exit polls won Sundays' parliamentary election, said he was concerned about a possible budget deficit that could cause a financial crisis.

"I am worried...by the huge budget deficit and the complete collapse of the country, left behind by (Socialist Prime Minister Sergei) Stanishev," Boiko Borisov told reporters.

Faced with plummeting support before the elections, the Socialist-led coalition government has tried to buy its way out of trouble with a spending spree that now threatens to force Bulgaria to run a budget deficit.

A sharp deterioration in public finances, after years of budget surpluses, could undermine Bulgaria's currency board and its peg to the euro.

Analysts say Bulgaria is likely to be the next in line after Hungary, Latvia, Romania to seek aid from the International Monetary Fund.

(Reporting by Irina Ivanova)