Authors: Edward McAllister and Stoyan Nenov
SOFIA (Reuters) – Rumen Radev painted a bleak picture of Bulgarian politics when he resigned as president on Monday, an unprecedented move that capped four years of weak governments and snap elections. He also offers a solution: himself.
“Our democracy cannot survive if we leave it to corrupt officials, conspirators and extremists,” he said in a televised address. “Your trust compels me to protect the country, its institutions and our future.”
Former Air Force Commander Radev has been waiting for this moment for years. Since the political crisis erupted in 2020, he has remained atop parliament, appointing caretaker governments when needed and gradually amassing influence to become the Balkan country’s ceremonial head of state.
Opinion polls now show him to be Bulgaria’s most popular politician, and he is widely expected to form a new party and run in parliamentary elections this spring.
Radev has not announced his intention to run, but the timing appears to be in his favor.
Popular protests over corruption and a budget that proposed higher taxes ousted the previous government in December, with voters increasingly fed up with the handful of elite politicians who have dominated for years. These include former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who leads the main political party “GERB”, and oligarch Delian Peevsky, who is sanctioned by the United States and Britain for corruption.
Still, he faces a huge challenge in turning around the fortunes of one of the EU’s poorest and most corrupt member states, where prosecutors allege hundreds of millions of euros in European funds have been diverted into the pockets of businessmen and officials, public tenders have been rigged and people have become so disillusioned that most don’t even bother to vote.
In early elections in June 2024, turnout fell to below 35% from nearly 50% in April 2021.
The challenge also involves Radev’s own personal image. He will face questions about his pro-Kremlin stance on the war in Ukraine, skepticism about the euro and even an allegedly damaging energy deal signed by the government he appointed.
“Radev brings the possibility of change to Bulgarian society while also providing predictability – it’s a perfect package,” said Parvan Simeonov, founder of Bulgarian pollster Myara. “However, there are questions and queries that need to be answered.”
Questions Radev needs answered
Radev was elected president in 2016 after completing his military career and training in the United States. During his first term, he became a critic of then-Prime Minister Borissov, who faced pressure from corruption accusations.
When police raided Radev’s office in 2020, Bulgarians saw the move as a blow and sparked the largest demonstrations since Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007. Months of protests have called for an end to corruption, greater accountability and the government’s resignation. Meanwhile, Radev was re-elected in 2021.
The protests ended Borisov’s term in office, but were followed by a political crisis in which the weak coalition could barely hold on for a few months. This spring’s election will be the eighth in four years.
Corruption continues: last year alone, the European Prosecutor’s Office said it had opened 97 investigations in Bulgaria, with losses totaling nearly 500 million euros.
Critics say Radev is partly responsible for the questionable dealings of the interim government he appointed. These include a 2023 gas deal between Türkiye’s state-owned gas company Botas and Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz, which led to losses and investigations.
Alliance partners needed
Analysts say Radev is popular but not enough to win an outright majority.
Many pointed to a possible marriage with the reformist People’s Party, which has also been outspoken against corruption. Nonetheless, the party does not agree with Radev’s soft stance on Russia or his reluctance to join the euro zone (Bulgaria joined on January 1).
Radev also must clarify his stance on Ukraine after making a series of pro-Kremlin statements in recent years. He clashed with Ukrainian President Zelensky at a meeting in 2023, when he said military aid to Kyiv would only prolong the conflict.
“God forbid such a tragedy happens (here) and you are in my position,” Zelensky said on live television. “Would you say ‘Putin, take over Bulgarian territory?'”
(Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
