In Bulgaria, the well-established right-wing party GERB could be beaten in the legislative elections this Sunday. Just like in Hungary last week, it’s not an outsider challenging the established government, but a familiar figure: the former president of the country, Rumen Radev.
Léa Marchal
Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network.
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In Bulgaria, the well-established right-wing party GERB could be beaten in the legislative elections this Sunday.
Just like in Hungary last week, it’s not an outsider challenging the established government, but a familiar figure: the former president of the country, Rumen Radev, now running in direct opposition to the current government.
Who is Radev? What is he advocating for? And why is he performing so well in the polls?
Bulgaria has had no fewer than seven prime ministers in the past five years. Governments have been reshuffled, elections repeatedly held, to the point that the country is sometimes described as ungovernable.
Meanwhile, the presidency, largely a symbolic role, has offered more stability. Radev held the office for nine years, until January this year, when he resigned to run for prime minister.
Radev and his newly founded party, Progressive Bulgaria, are currently leading the polls by one point.
How did he become so popular?
Much like in Hungary last week, the leading candidate is no outsider. And he has built much of his campaign around fighting corruption.
And once again, it seems to be working.
Despite serving as president for nearly a decade, Radev doesn’t appear strongly associated with day-to-day politics—at least not in the public perception.
In fact, he claims that Bulgarian citizens themselves encouraged him to enter parliamentary politics.
He also has a military background, having served as commander of the Bulgarian Air Force. Military figures often enjoy strong public support, seen as grounded and competent.
But beyond the fight against corruption, what does his programme actually propose?
Radev previously ran under a socialist banner. Today, his new party, Progressive Bulgaria, is not clearly positioned on the political spectrum.
His campaign promises a vision of Bulgaria as a free, democratic, and modern European state.
His programme outlines fairly broad priorities, ranging from education to security. Critics actually question his political experience.
His position is also unclear when it comes to foreign policy—starting with the war in Ukraine.
Radev is often described as pro-Russian. He has previously called for the lifting of EU sanctions against Russia and stated, as a matter of fact, that Crimea is Russian.
When the Bulgarian government signed a cooperation agreement with Ukraine in March, Radev accused it of dragging the country into the war.
So, should the EU be concerned?
It remains unclear how Radev would act at the European Council—both on Ukraine and on other key issues.
For instance, on the economic front, as Bulgaria was finalising its entry into the euro, Radev called for a referendum on adopting the single currency.
He argued that such a decision required public consent. The proposal, however, was rejected by parliament.
According to several analysts, this may have been more of a strategic political move than firm opposition to the euro. Because Radev had not previously expressed strong resistance to Bulgaria joining the eurozone.
Before we wrap up, maybe a word about the potential result of the elections: if the polls are off, right wing GERB could still come out on top.
It is polling at around 20 percent, compared to 30 percent for Progressive Bulgaria.
For the country, it would mostly mean continuity.
