As Bulgaria’s new parliament opens, the pro-EU opposition has split into two separate groups, weakening its ability to counter election winner Progressive Bulgaria’s dominance.
Svetoslav Todorov
Bulgaria’s new parliament opened on Thursday, immediately revealing a fractured pro-EU opposition, with the cabinet expected to be dominated by Progressive Bulgaria, the party of the Moscow-friendly former President, Rumen Radev.
We Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria, the pro-EU parties that ran together in the April 19 snap elections, will split into two parliamentary groups, with 16 and 21 members respectively in the 240-seat parliament.
We Continue the Change, which rose to prominence in 2021 and won the elections on its debut, and Democratic Bulgaria – a coalition of Yes, Bulgaria and Democrats for Strong Bulgaria – have been running together since 2023 to consolidate the reformist-minded pro-EU electorate, targeting centrist voters.
Before this outcome, Democratic Bulgaria had demanded that the two forces officially merge into one and position itself more clearly as a single opposition force. We Continue the Change’s leadership appeared reserved about this.
Reasons behind the split have remained vague. WCC leader Assen Vassilev commented on Wednesday that, “people more deeply into the right and won’t vote in sync with us because they find our politics too on the left … now every party can develop its own identity”. On Thursday, he shrugged off questions, saying the split is now “in the past”.
But Nikola Minchev of WCC, who is also an MEP, called the decision of his own party “unserious”.
“It is imperative for the opposition to remain united to prevent Progressive Bulgaria from taking control of all the power in the country”, stated Minchev on Thursday. “The political value of these outcomes gravitates at around zero.”
Similar statements followed from the DB camp. “We ran together in the elections and people voted for us as a united team … What’s happening isn’t just a mistake. It’s a mistake that’s been made several times before, including by us and has always had damaging consequences”, said MP Elisaveta Belobradova, criticising the fragmentation that has plagued similar political projects over the years.
However, WCC and DB have reconfirmed that they will collaborate on a joint candidate for the presidential election by the end of the year.
The uneasy duo came in third place with 12.6 per cent in the April 19 snap elections in which Progressive Bulgaria surpassed all expectations by taking 44.5 per cent and winning a parliamentary majority.
The results were a blow to the alliance, which in 2025 led mass protests against the previous, GERB-led cabinet. But these protests didn’t inspire a wider voter pool for the alliance.
WCC and DB are meanwhile expected to collaborate with Progressive Bulgaria on passing justice reform legislation.
On Thursday, Radev told the media that it’s “likely” that he will be the designated Prime Minister. His cabinet is yet to be announced.
