Radev’s resignation as president shakes up political scene ahead of Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections
Bulgaria’s Constitutional Court confirmed on January 20 that it is to consider its decision on Roumen Radev’s resignation as president, while the move continues to provoke reactions from political parties ahead of Bulgaria’s next early parliamentary elections.
Radev announced his resignation as head of state in a televised address on the evening of January 19, though he did not make clear the identity of his political project nor who his electoral partners would be.
Entry of a Radev political project into the parliamentary contest had long been expected, though the timing had been known only to him and his close associates.
When, as expected, the Constitutional Court approves Radev’s resignation in coming days, his vice president Ilyana Yotova will take over as head of state, with her first tasks being the holding of formal consultations with parliamentary groups, the appointment of a caretaker Prime Minister and the decreeing of a date for early parliamentary elections.
The date of those elections – whether in late March or in April, with the latter month including the Orthodox Easter holidays – is not clear for now.
The degree of support that a Radev political project will have in the next parliamentary elections has not been formally measured by opinion polling agencies, because their practice is to measure support only for existing parties.
On January 20, Denitsa Sacheva of GERB-UDF – Boiko Borissov’s coalition that currently is Parliament’s largest group – said that “while in flying the pilot is important, in politics the team is important”, a reference to Radev’s former career as an Air Force pilot.
GERB will not fight Mr. Radev and his political entity. GERB will leave it to Mr. Radev to fight reality, Sacheva said.
“Yesterday’s statement by Mr. Radev did not contain any specifics regarding either his intentions or his possible platform with which he would appear, so it is difficult to make a meaningful comment,” she said.
“I just want to remind you that when the consultations were taking place, I appeared before him and said that I had the feeling that I was entering the largest political headquarters in the country. You see, just a few weeks later, from the incubator of political parties, we have an application for a new political entity and we expect to see what will be proposed, because the time for moral monologues and ceremonies is over.
“We are glad that on the ground we will be able to see something more specific in terms of a program, in terms of a team and all the things that are related to real politics and real governance, because that is where it is proven who can and who cannot actually work for Bulgaria,” Sacheva said.
Assen Vassilev, leader of We Continue the Change – part of Parliament’s second-largest group – said that with the appearance of Rumen Radev on the party political scene, the three alternatives that voters will face in the upcoming parliamentary elections are now clearly outlined.
Bulgarian citizens have understood that the future of the state is in their hands, there is no need to wait for a saviour, Vassilev said.
We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria is for a strong Bulgaria in a strong Europe, while Radev is for “Bulgaria on both chairs”, that is, for people who look both to the East and the West, Vassilev said.
The third path is “the path of corruption”, he said.
Vassilev asked Radev several questions – whether he would blame the EU “like Orbán”, why he called for a referendum on the euro, and why he did not fire the head of State Agency for National Security when he criticised machine voting.
“Does he want a strong Bulgaria in a strong Europe or does he want a Bulgaria according to the Orbán model, which will play the role of a Trojan horse in the EU?” Vassilev
Vassilev said that he was against returning the old rules to the constitution because they gave the president rights “like Louis XIV”.
On January 19, Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of minority pro-Russian party Vuzrazhdane, said in a post on social networks: “Did Radev really say that we need a new social contract? Did he then say that Bulgaria needs a refoundation and finally ended with “It’s time for revival?” (the Bulgarian word “vuzrazhdane” means “revival”).
“I expect the former president’s next step to be to demand an exit from Nato. I don’t know why the person who wrote Radev’s speech did not write that for him – after all, that’s also written in the Vuzrazhdane programme,” Kostadinov said.
The Vuzrazhdane leader said that he was “looking forward to having the former president at the pre-election debates, if he has the courage to show up”.
“He will have to answer many questions that he will no longer be able to hide from, as he has done until now,” Kostadinov said.
In the aftermath of Radev’s announcement that he was resigning as president, four parties that had in the October 2024 parliamentary elections been part of the Bulgarian Socialist Party – United Left submitted applications to the Central Election Commission for it to be registered that they were leaving the coalition.
The four minor parties quitting the BSP – United Left coalition are Party for Radical Change – Bulgarian Spring, the Movement 21 party, the Rise Up, Bulgaria party and the Social Democrats Political Movement party.
On January 19 and 20, various minority opposition parties in the current Parliament welcomed Radev’s resignation and signalled willingness to cooperate with his political project.
As of the afternoon of January 20, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning, led by Radev’s political foe Magnitsky Act-sanctioned Delyan Peevski, had not yet publicly commented on Radev’s resignation as president.
(Photo: president.bg)
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