Rumen Radev’s face and slogans for his newly founded Progressive Bulgaria party have flooded Sofia’s airport and highways, with billboards and banners centering almost entirely on the former president. A former military pilot, an admirer of Hungary’s Viktor Orban and an opponent of Bulgaria adopting the euro, Radev won the presidency in 2016 and 2021. As president he often criticized successive coalition governments and maintained strong approval ratings.
The government collapsed last December after mass protests over the budget law, prompting a snap parliamentary election on April 19 — Bulgaria’s eighth ballot in five years. The campaign has been dominated by Radev’s January decision to resign the presidency early and run for parliament. He framed his bid as a fight to “bring down the oligarchy” and promised to “take back our country” and end poverty in what he called “European Bulgaria.”
Radev leads in the polls, pledging to overturn the established parties’ “corrupt model.” But his pro-Russian positions during his presidency and the absence of obvious political partners have raised questions about how much his victory would change domestic and foreign policy and what it would mean for Bulgaria’s role in the EU.
Traveling the country ahead of the vote, many voters described Radev as “the country’s last hope” amid prolonged instability, though some, especially younger voters, view him skeptically as a new “messianic” figure. Boryana Dimitrova of Alpha Research says Radev is filling large halls and appealing across social groups, forcing rivals to focus on consolidating core supporters. Alpha Research’s latest poll put Progressive Bulgaria on 34.2%, with the center-right GERB-SDS at 19.5%. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), led by oligarch Delyan Peevski — under US and UK sanctions — polled about 9.4%, while the anti-corruption liberal alliance PP-DB stood at 11.6%.
Voters’ primary concerns contrast with parties’ stated achievements. While parties tout EU integration, judicial reform and anti-corruption measures, ordinary Bulgarians worry most about rising inflation — a concern not seen since 1997 — made sharper by Bulgaria’s euro adoption on January 1, 2026, and energy price rises tied to the Middle East conflict. Alpha Research for Bulgarian National Radio found inflation fears top the list, with corruption a close second. Radev has made fighting corruption central to his campaign.
Analysts note Radev’s deliberate ambiguity on key issues. Daniel Smilov, a political scientist at Sofia University, says Radev’s electorate splits roughly between pro-Russian voters and those motivated primarily by anti-corruption sentiment. To avoid alienating either camp, Radev has kept some positions vague. Dimitrova adds that many of his supporters come from pro-Russian corners of the far right and from conservative and left-wing parties losing ground, including former voters of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), which risks falling below the parliamentary threshold.
Radev has long expressed pro-Russian views and refused to label Vladimir Putin an aggressor in the Ukraine war while president, provoking controversy. Though he has not advocated leaving the EU, his stances often align with Orban in Hungary and Slovakia’s Robert Fico. He opposed military support for Ukraine and has called sanctions on Russia ineffective. Politico recently listed Radev as a potential EU “disruptor-in-chief” if he became prime minister, particularly after Orban’s defeat in Hungary.
Forming a government looks likely to be difficult. It remains unclear whether “Progressive” in Progressive Bulgaria reflects a left-liberal agenda or a nationalist-conservative model similar to Serbia’s ruling party. The answer will depend on whom Radev’s party partners with. Progressive Bulgaria has said it is open to alliances around shared goals like “zero tolerance of corruption,” which could open the door to cooperation with the pro-European PP-DB. Yet deep differences on foreign policy — especially regarding Russia and Ukraine — could block a stable coalition. Both Progressive Bulgaria and PP-DB have ruled out coalitions involving GERB and DPS, and other parties are reluctant to confirm whether they would partner with Radev.
With a fragmented parliament likely and no clear majority, two central questions remain: will Bulgaria, for the first time in more than two decades, end up with a parliamentary majority that is not pro-European, and will the entrenched corruption model finally be dismantled? The election’s outcome will shape not only domestic politics but also Bulgaria’s posture within the EU and toward regional security challenges. Edited by Aingeal Flanagan