Pessimistic attitudes for the next year clearly dominate. Our research was conducted against the backdrop of unprecedented protests, the euro does not arouse serious enthusiasm, there is no good news on the international scene - I don't know where optimism can come from. Concerns related to inflation are at serious levels. This was stated by political scientist from "Trend" Dimitar Ganev in the program "From the Day" on BNT.
2025 gave us an answer to the question of whether the political crisis is over. Not a single regular government in the last five years has lasted more than a year. This party system seems to be exhausted, without the strength and capabilities to give birth to something more stable than a compromise government of several months in very difficult coalition formats. If there is no new player on the field and a similar structure in attitudes is reproduced, then this does not bode well for a stable cabinet after the protests, the political scientist explained.
The protest was a logical consequence of long-standing problems and tension in the country. July 8 was key, it divided the political period - next to it we had a government that had set itself the goal of the eurozone and an opposition that has one foot in the government and the other in the opposition. After July 8, a cardinal change occurred - the vote on membership in the eurozone and the arrest of Blagomir Kotsev. The process that unfolded was one of constantly accumulating tension. The budget was a spark to release this dissatisfaction that had been building up for months before, Ganev emphasized.
The question that will largely determine 2026 is whether there will be a new player on the field. There is a window of opportunity in which this news can be announced. This is the moment when the third term returns, which will be between January 20-25 and before the appointment of a caretaker cabinet. Radev is currently a very complicated issue. If this moment is missed, the president risks not having another moment. The local elections will be the worst possible start for Radev. A geopolitical factor may also determine this. The second risk is related to the fact that if he does not make this move now, he may disappoint his supporters, the analyst believes.
A new player on the field is definitely being sought. If it is not Radev in these elections, it will certainly be someone else. Politics cannot tolerate a vacuum for a long time, he warned.
In his words, the mass nature of the protests does not guarantee that this will be carried over to the ballot boxes, Dimitar Ganev also said.
In his words, these protests have rehabilitated “We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria” (PP-DB). What happened in Sofia is different from the situation in the country. If there is a new player on the field, he will clash on the same electoral field with PP-DB. What can unite them is anti-status quo governance, the political scientist predicts.