The winner of Bulgaria's snap parliamentary elections, former President Rumen Radev, has officially taken the reins of government in Bulgaria, which Bulgarians hope will finally be stable, writes Agence France-Presse (AFP) in an extensive article.
With their vote in the April 19 elections, Bulgarians "confirmed their desire to have stable institutions, as well as to defend freedom, democracy and justice, by giving a parliamentary majority to a single political force," Radev, a 62-year-old former fighter pilot who is a supporter of renewing dialogue with Moscow, said yesterday, the French news agency emphasized.
She notes that when the mandate to form a government yesterday Radev presented a ready list of ministers. Unsurprisingly, the former general chose a team largely made up of his former presidential advisers and close associates, such as Dimitar Stoyanov, a former colleague in the air force, as defense minister, lawyer Ivan Demerdzhiev as interior minister, and Galab Donev as deputy prime minister and finance minister. Foreign policy was entrusted to Velislava Petrova, a former deputy foreign minister.
Rumen Radev, who came to power with the promise to “dismantle the oligarchic model“, inherits a series of problems that need urgent resolution. The 2026 budget has yet to be drawn up, inflation is accelerating noticeably, and the judicial system is blocked. He must also undertake a number of reforms, especially in the fight against corruption, in order to unlock nearly 400 million euros from Brussels under the recovery plan, AFP commented.
She noted that after his election victory, Radev had not made any statements, and the composition of his cabinet remained confidential until the last moment. “Radev has an absolute intolerance for information leaks. He is pure military“, one of his relatives told AFP.
For the first time in nearly 30 years, Bulgaria will have a government supported by an absolute majority. Radev's party “Progressive Bulgaria“ (PB) won 131 of the 240 seats in parliament in the early elections on April 19, the media added.
A critic of the European Union's energy policies and a supporter of “pragmatic“ relations with Moscow, Rumen Radev has won the sympathy of a part of the electorate, favorable to Russia, and is perceived as pro-Russian by pro-Western parties - a label he categorically rejects, AFP notes.
Before the elections, he said that he would not veto aid to Ukraine, but that Bulgaria would not participate in its financing.
“As for foreign policy, I want to reassure everyone: there will be no radical or extreme turn, nothing like that“, said Petar Vitanov, head of the PB parliamentary group, on Tuesday, stressing that the position of Radev's government would be close to that of “most European leaders“.
On the economic front, Radev warned of the deterioration of public finances, with the budget deficit likely to significantly exceed 3% of GDP. Annual inflation in April reached 7.1%, which is three points more than 4.1% in the previous month, AFP notes.
On Tuesday, the PB team announced that it is considering increasing the ceiling of the state debt in order to guarantee the payment of pensions and salaries, the French news agency also recalls.
Associated Press (AP)
The Bulgarian parliament officially approved Rumen Radev today as the new prime minister of Bulgaria in an attempt to end political instability and stimulate economic development in the EU member state, the American news agency Associated Press writes.
“We have no illusions about the crises and trials that the government is facing and for which we will soon seek your support - galloping prices, budget, missing reforms, a severe global energy crisis and escalating conflicts“, he told lawmakers, the AP recalls.
Radev resigned from the largely ceremonial presidency in January, a few months before the end of his second term, to launch a campaign to head the government, the AP adds, noting that the role of Bulgarian prime minister is more influential. Bulgaria's previous conservative government collapsed in December after anti-corruption protests brought hundreds of thousands, mostly young people, to the streets of Bulgarian cities.
Radev's popularity has grown as he says he opposes the entrenched mafia and its ties to high-ranking politicians. During election rallies, Radev promised to "remove the corrupt oligarchic model of governance from political power," the outlet added.
His party, "Progressive Bulgaria," won a landslide victory in the April 19 parliamentary elections, securing a comfortable majority of 131 seats in the 240-seat parliament.
The AP also provides a brief biographical sketch of Radev in its story and points out that Radev's supporters are divided between those who hope he will end oligarchic corruption in the country and those who support his Eurosceptic and Russia-friendly views, the agency commented.
While Radev's pro-Russian stance raises concerns about Bulgaria's role in European decision-making, some political analysts expect his future approach to remain moderate, unlike that of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, not least because Bulgaria remains heavily dependent on European funds.
„He is more likely to seek to weaken Sofia's support for Kiev, for which Bulgaria is a key supplier of ammunition, and to insist "to resume imports of Russian oil and gas, prioritizing cheaper energy supplies," Florence Thierry, an analyst at insurance group Credendo, said in a written comment to the AP. “Despite these positions, Bulgaria's full accession to the Schengen area and the recent adoption of the euro are expected to maintain continuity in the country's foreign policy, making a reversal in its Euro-Atlantic orientation unlikely“, the analyst adds.
Reuters
In a material on the handing over of Rumen Radev a mandate to form a government, Reuters recalls that yesterday he promised to reduce prices and restore stability in Bulgaria.
Radev stepped down from the largely ceremonial presidency in January to participate in the election after protests against corruption and rising living costs forced the previous government to resign in December, the media outlet adds.
The victory of “Progressive Bulgaria“ - the largest election result in a generation - allowed Radev to head the first one-party government in Bulgaria in nearly three decades.
Velislava Petrova-Chamova and Galab Donev, who was acting prime minister in 2022-2023, will take over the posts of foreign minister and finance minister respectively in the new cabinet, which will have to quickly adopt a new budget, set a debt ceiling to guarantee the payment of pensions and salaries, and try to secure European funds.
“We will reverse the trend of skyrocketing prices, we will restore stability with a new Supreme Judicial Council and its inspectorate“, Radev said. "We will absorb the payments we are due under the Recovery and Resilience Plan," he added, referring to the hundreds of millions of euros withheld by the European Commission mainly due to delayed anti-corruption legislation and judicial reforms related to the prosecutor general, Reuters recalls.
The media notes that the credit rating agency “Fitch“ said last month that Radev's plan to replace the members of the Supreme Judicial Council, which elects the prosecutor general, would be the first test of his ability to implement domestic anti-corruption reforms. “Fitch“ also pointed to the risk of rising energy prices due to the conflict in the Middle East, which could weigh on economic growth.
Voters, analysts and diplomats are also waiting to see how pro-Russian Radev's government will be, Reuters also writes. At his last election rally, he showed photos of world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, on a large screen, the agency recalls.
Representatives of Radev's party dismissed concerns about any extreme turns in his government's foreign policy, Reuters adds.
TASS
The Russian news agency TASS also covered the election of the government led by Rumen Radev by parliament, and presented a biographical note about him in a separate article.
Other foreign media
A short article on the topic is also available in the Spanish news agency EFE. The Italian "Agencia Nova" and the Italian edition of „Euronews“ also have short articles on the new Bulgarian government. A short article on Radev's appointment as prime minister is also available on the French news site „France 24“. From English-language media, short materials are published by the European broadcast of “Euronews“ and “Politico“.