Is the new Bulgarian PM really going to be pro-Russia?
Posted by FantasticQuartet@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 139 comments
Posted by FantasticQuartet@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 139 comments
Professional-Bait77@reddit
People who claim Radev is pro Russian without actual fact checking are the actual scarry ones...
LibertyChecked28@reddit
A NATO General with Military Eduction in America is most definetly a "Russian Asset", and anyone who says otherwise is Klemlin Agent 😒
Zealousideal-Bed5777@reddit
Повечети ДС агенти от външно навремето са били със западно образование.
PVanchurov@reddit
fwiw, I will post it again. He's been deemed by Russia to be a perfect candidate 10 years ago, became president, now formed a party and won the parliamentary elections, the whole campaign was perfectly, almost beautifully orchestrated, it targeted with surgical precision the right peoples via the right vectors to get him elected. Does that automatically make him a Russian asset ... everyone can judge, in practice though whoever funded this campaign and got him elected will call on a favor or ten, whenever the time comes and it will be blatantly obvious.
pisellino87@reddit
There are possibilities bulgaria will exit from euro in like 2 years?
PVanchurov@reddit
Not likely, Bulgarian currency has been pegged to the euro since its inception. Leaving the euro will cause havoc on the economy and no sane politician will go for it.
Comprehensive-Bike36@reddit
This ↑
There was literally an interview with a Russian general from the security services that admitted that they chose him. Plus he was chosen as a presidential candidate right after the leader of the party went to Moscow :))
alkorisno@reddit
CIA has a lot bigger funding, since US is richer. You cant blame everything on Russia. He got elected becuae people dont want a war with Russia, no body wants to die in a war. That doesnt mean he is pro Russian.
PVanchurov@reddit
What does the CIA have to do with this and with this conversation? I've stated clear and well known facts that can be checked and traced, Radev got elected because they were able to get the right messages to the right audiences. Russian foreign intelligence fingerprints are all over this and not because they were sloppy but because they wanted it to be clear who did it, like an ad campaign for something they intend to emulate wherever they can.
Why do you mention a war? Russia can't get over Ukraine for 4 years now and was purpusefully bogged down, what makes you think that they have the capacity to launch a bigger war on Europe? The only country that can currently accept the cost of initiating a major war is China and their opportunity cost over Taiwan is increasing with each year with it going into unreasanable territory in less than a decade from now. Even the US has exhausted its spare capability and can't carry on fighting without additional resources i.e. funding and industrial capacity that takes time to ramp up.
Andreuw5@reddit
His campaign was most probably funded by the same orgs that creates Boyko.
Anxious-Orange-7293@reddit
Yeap, and Boyko did build the Russian pipeline. So the interests behind them are absolutely the same, maybe with slightly different positions
CHIIMA_DESIGN@reddit
Given his decade in power and his track record of words and actions—as well as inactions—it is naive to believe he has undergone a sudden transformation. He is a populist figure; the electorate votes for Radev as a persona rather than for a political program, which he lacks. Consequently, what lies ahead will likely be worse than what we have witnessed to date.
PVanchurov@reddit
I wouldn't be so pessimistic about it, tbh GERB and DPS always had Russian interests behind them, well, until DPS got hijacked. I won't even mention BSP and Vazrazhdane. Most dirty money in Bulgaria come from 3 countries, one speaks almost exclusively Russian, the other two speak it to a large degree. Things will remain mostly unchanged, I will leave you to figure it out which countries I'm talking about though ;). In any case, most of us were surprised about the rappid accession of Bulgaria into Schengen and the Eurozone, now we know what the impetus was.
That being said, if Radev wants to be a proper populist he has to do one of two things, complete high visibitlity projects/reforms or do high visibility PR stunts. Let's see which way he goes. If he finally goes for the judicial reform with a supermajority in parliament supported by PPDB, this is bound to score him some points, along with a mop up of the current National Prosecution.
If the party's program is to be believed infrastructure investments will be a focus, but, a few months ago, out of nowhere, we've started building roads and railways to facilitate military mobility, keep an eye out if this is in any way redirected to a dead end road to Upper Uino. Bridges to Romania need to happen asap, if Radev blocks them, it's obvious who called this shot.
If he returns the refinery back to the Russians, again, obvious. But we need to be more nuanced and analyse actions rather than personas. And while the persona is clearly a Russian cocksucker, let's focus on the actions and who benefits from them so we can call things what they are - Economic interests and where they lead.
PS people notice that we're talking about Radev this, Radev that ... there's a party behind him, that party is yet to state their intentions. Are they all Russian cocksuckers? Highly likely. We just don't know it yet for sure because that party just popped up and besides a 140 pages long document they produced with AI there's nothing more to say about them.
Anxious-Orange-7293@reddit
That's what I'm thinking. I was listening to a podcast with a political analysist (Ognyan Minchev) and he said that the role of Radev will be to install russian puppets in the security services. But those people already claimed that an assassination attempt with poison (Gebrev) was due to him not washing his vegetables properly. So GERB was helpful too in this regard.
Admirable_Garlic_439@reddit
Short answer - yes
Long answer - yes with extra steps. I truly don't understand how somebody can say he isn't pro-russian. He is the literal definition of pro russian.
He was against sending weapons and money to Ukraine, he has said multiple times that he thinks we should pursue warm "practical" relations with Russia. He was against Russian sanctions, he wanted to buy petrol and LNG from Russia instead of import from elsewhere. He used to be in the army, which in Bulgaria is very VERY commonly pro Russia. His previous party BSP (Bulgarian socialist party) was the successor of the communist party BCP (Bulgarian communist party) after the regime fell. The rest of the people in his current party originate from the same BS(C)P party.
As for how bad he'll be for us, and the EU..... I expect very very bad, but only time will tell how much shit we'll go through.
Fuck all of you illiterate communists who voted for this POS. You truly deserve to live in the shit hole Bulgaria is and will remain to be.
ProxyX13@reddit
He trained in NATO, but nobody says he is pro USA. It's just EU communist propaganda.
dontgo2sleep@reddit
Radev is not pro-russian is the new "covid is hoax" and "there is no global warming".
dontgo2sleep@reddit
Absofuckinglutely
veleso91@reddit
No, it's just a massive exaggeration. A complex topic dumbed down for the brainrot-infested mind of an average Redditor.
PresnikBonny@reddit
Party in Eastern Europe: Maybe we shouldn't get involved with the war in Ukraine
Dumbass Redditors and X users: RUSSIAN ASSET!1!11!1!111
Kaer__Morhen@reddit
Well in a way I agree, it's easy for us Serbs to suck Russian cock when we don't share a border with them but Bulgaria is much closer and easier to get to, better keep the anti Russia sentiment high before they come to liberate your land
Suitable-Decision-26@reddit
Dude, the we have so much supposed Russophiles, it is a wonder we are in NATO.
Kaer__Morhen@reddit
Turkey is also in NATO and it is an awful ally, it's more of a game of influence and territory than dedicated faithful members
Apatride@reddit
What makes you think Turkey has been a bad ally? If NATO is the reason why USSR did not invade Europe then surely the second biggest army in NATO played a role. Otherwise, NATO has only been used for US to sell weapons, drag allies successfully in the was in Afghanistan, attempt to drag us into Iraq (most did not fall for it), then now in Iran. And now they want to leave NATO so Israel, a country they have no formal alliance with but that weighs a lot on US politics, can attack Turkey next. Turkey is not the shitty ally here.
Kaer__Morhen@reddit
As I said below, the US being a terrible ally doesn't make Turkey a good one ultimately I can't comment too much on this matter seeing as we are not part of NATO but I know Turkey blocked Sweden from entering NATO and flirted too often with Russia
I know the general younger public doesn't support Erdogan but unfortunately like for us the situation is the way it is and situations can't be ignored
Apatride@reddit
But nothing Turkey has done makes it a bad ally. Keeping friendly relations with Russia is beneficial for Turkey and Europe (we almost managed to prevent an armed conflict in Ukraine because Turkey was able to host the negotiations). They do buy some Russian military equipment, as is common in the region, but recent developments makes it a smart choice to diversify your equipment a bit so one country can't disable your entire army by not providing maintenance parts anymore.
As for Sweden, that is also a pragmatic decision. Swedes are experts in submarine detection so they can efficiently close the Baltics for the Russian navy which puts a lot of pressure on Turkey since, in case of conflict, Russia will want to secure its only other access to the Atlantic ocean which is via the Mediterranean. Sweden joining NATO put a target on Turkey's back in case of a hot conflict with Russia.
Adistaktos34@reddit
1) Purchase of Russian S-400 Systems
2) Close Relations with Russia
3) Instrumentalization of the Veto (Sweden/Finland)
4) Aggression against Greece
5) Authoritarian Turn and Values
6) Independent Agenda in Syria Differentiation in Crises
Turkey has diverged from the NATO line at critical moments, such as not condemning Hamas attacks in 2023, where it was the only country to refuse to do so. Policy of "Geopolitical Turmoil": Analysts often characterize Turkey as an unpredictable member (geopolitical maverick), which causes instability, resulting in questions being raised about its commitment to the collective decisions of the alliance.
Iraq War (2003): Turkey refused to fully assist the U.S. On March 1, 2003, the Turkish parliament voted against a proposal that would have allowed the deployment of 62,000 American troops on its soil to open a "northern front" against Iraq.
Turkey is not yet officially a full member of the BRICS, but it has submitted an official request for membership, seeking to diversify its international relations and not be solely dependent on the West. They do not accept it there either. The accession process is underway, with Turkey seeking to join the bloc that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and new members.
I could write for days about how bad an ally it is. Also in 1940 it did nothing to stop the Nazis from committing so many crimes, yet they had trade with each other. Turkey is the last one to get involved in a war for NATO.
Apatride@reddit
Diversifying the military equipment is a smart move (otherwise US can render your military useless within months by not providing maintenance parts, which they might very well do when Israel decides it is time to attack Turkey and is likely part of the reason why Trump now wants to leave NATO) and absolutely not forbidden by NATO. Same for commercial partnerships (BRICS)
There is absolutely no reason to be openly hostile to Russia, it achieves absolutely nothing.
I already addressed most of your other points but for the 4 I did not directly address:
1) Turkey had no obligation to assist US in Iraq. The Art 5 was only used for Afghanistan and Turkey did its job despite the second point.
2) It is not in Turkey's best interest to see changes in regimes in the region, including Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran due to its relationship with the Kurds. Despite this, Turkey honored the treaty when necessary.
3) This is a Balkan sub-reddit. Do you really want to get on the topic of collaboration with the nazis? Do you need a refresher on what Ukrainians did?
4) So you have an issue with Turkey not stopping the nazis but you expect them to side with Israel against the Palestinians?
You need to read about what NATO truly is, then you will understand that Turkey has behaved as a trustworthy ally when NATO (the treaty) required it.
kwonza@reddit
Russian here, I absolutely agree, Turkey have being playing their own game as any sovereign country should, but they always fulfilled their duty as a NATO member, shitting on them is absolutely ungrateful.
Kaer__Morhen@reddit
We are not in NATO and they did bomb us justified or not I can be as ungrateful as I want
kwonza@reddit
Not saying you should be grateful, I’m saying shitting on Turkey from EU and NATO perspective is all too common and I think from their perspective is undeserved
Kaer__Morhen@reddit
Well it is not without basis, yeah the US is a terrible ally but that doesn't make Turkey a good one, they often clash with the rest of the members and they too often flirt with Russia (no offense but I think you know what I mean)
They are essential to NATO no doubt but my point still stands
KaraBoga61@reddit
Serbia, that shithole known for war crimes, would certainly be a better ally.
reverber@reddit
…again.
RestaurantBoring417@reddit
Wow is this sub infested with tankies now as well? Yeah let's just leave Ukraine to fight Russia on their own but for some reason we all have to be active in boycotting Israel because of a conflict that unlike Russia-Ukraine actually doesn't affect Europe
TheCharalampos@reddit
Didnt Israel recently cause the strait of Hormuz to be closed becaaue they got the Americans to come over? Feels like that's affecting Europe
eferalgan@reddit
You meant to type Donbas and autocorrected to Dumbass?
ednorog@reddit
A "massive exaggeration" is a massive exaggeration. It maybe a little exaggerated indeed since he explicitly is not blocking the EU from helping Ukraine. He will be working pretty hard in favor of Russian interests here in the energy sector, though, to be sure. Just wait and see.
Andreuw5@reddit
He INDEED is PRO RUSSIA.
Apatride@reddit
And pushed by shitloads of bots and a few, very vocal, useful idiots.
Kaer__Morhen@reddit
People underestimate how much of the internet is just bots and those bots are paid by Russia and China mainly, of course they'll spread info that is in their favor
bonqen@reddit
But why would Russia or China lie about this guy being pro-Russia? Just to spread fear?
Kaer__Morhen@reddit
No he likely is pro-Russian but I doubt he will be Orban level pro-Russian and spreading that info before it is proven is a perfect way to create more division inside Europe
rogomatic@reddit
He's been the President here for mandates bub, we know exsctly who he's going to be.
SetFun@reddit
Many bots are from west also. There are no more non biased moves or neutral stances.
Apatride@reddit
Yes, lots of bots, but on mostly Western platforms like Reddit, Twitter/X, and similar, the vast majority of bots are Western bots pushing Western propaganda. It is much more useful, efficient, and easier to flood the platforms/networks you can control with your own propaganda while blocking foreign propaganda than it is to flood foreign platforms/networks with your propaganda.
So Chinese mostly get Chinese propaganda, Russians get Russian propaganda, and Westerners get Western propaganda.
Excellent_Jeweler_43@reddit
Kind of funny how people assume there are only Russian or Chinese bots when the overwhelming majority of bots in this platform are Western ones.
You can go on any single big subreddit and you can see the same news from the same websites with the same headlines uploaded simultaneously every single day. Same goes for a lot of comments
Apatride@reddit
Yep. It is propaganda 101: Accuse your enemy of doing exactly what you are doing and people will believe you. On some subs/platforms, any comment that is not 100% anti-Russia is accused of being a bot. It is almost Pavlovian.
Kaer__Morhen@reddit
People are dumb enough that they spread their own countries propaganda without the need to pay them, you pay bots to spread your propaganda there where it won't be heard, western propaganda bots have no need to act in the west
There is a reason China and North Korea don't let internet traffic in, it's not because of Russian and Chinese bots
Apatride@reddit
I disagree with your first point. You just have to look at how biased news can be in the EU or, even better, the US. People spread their country propaganda BECAUSE they are fed this propaganda, either via traditional media or bots. For dumb people to spread propaganda, they first need to be told what to think.
I agree with your second point and it is what I was saying: Spreading your propaganda abroad is a lot more difficult and, ultimately, what matters is that your own citizens believe what you are saying. Putin does not care what US, or even EU citizens think. He knows he won't be able to influence them as efficiently as the US and EU do, so he focuses on Russian people because, ultimately, support from Russian people is the only thing that matters to him.
NixarDixar@reddit
They liberated us moldovans so much i feel libertarded just thinking about it
Strange_Status_7690@reddit
From N.Macedonia you can't really know what you talk about this topic.
PurpleDrax@reddit
Damn, here i was mistakenly thinking i was Bulgarian.
Confusing times
Strange_Status_7690@reddit
MK is a joke or a rollercoaster tempomat
floodisspelledweird@reddit
So explain it then bc you’re clearly knowledgeable about it
veleso91@reddit
🤡
DuctTapeJesus@reddit
Calm down Dimitri from Sr.Pete troll factory. It's exactly like that. Hungary freed from Putins lap dog to be traversed to Bulgaria pro-Russian elections.
veleso91@reddit
Мајка ти и тетка ти на куров оро да ми игра! Good luck finding someone from St. Petersburg that knows that knows this phrase! 🤣
Dragonagefanboy@reddit
Eve so, do you remember a few years ago when he was talking about sending Bulgarian secrets seevices in Macedonia to find out how we oppress Bulgarians? Probably just sword radeling but still not a good sign for us.
Strange_Status_7690@reddit
Skopje even today is a Serbian satelite and follows Yugo history. This is so because the name artificial socialist federation erased all Bulgarians from present day MK since 1944.
veleso91@reddit
Yeah but this is standard Bulgarian chauvinism, it has nothing to do with Russia.
Petrak1s@reddit
On his rally the other day the dude showed huge picture shaking hands with Putin..
veleso91@reddit
The Orange Man also has a picture oof himself shaking hands with Putin, while giving 24/7 real time satellite and inteligence data to the Ukrainians, plus a metric shitton of weapons.
dcroopev@reddit
He is a direct recruit of Reshetnikov and all of his stances have been mirroring the stances of kremlin.
However, he won’t be able to act on it the same way orban or fico did.
VLAON6@reddit
If saying that crimea is Russian and that Russia did nothing wrong, then I guess he’s pro-Russian
Ujemegaz@reddit
He is right about Crimea though.
VLAON6@reddit
If some aggressor steals land from you will you say the same thing?
Ujemegaz@reddit
What is the ethnic composition if Crimea 🤔
BraveSirWobin@reddit
What is the ethnic composition in many russian oblasts, and then why are those oblasts still russian?
Shalltry@reddit
Because they chose to be?
BraveSirWobin@reddit
Suuure, all the historical conquered trives "chooses" to be, just like Chechnya did...
Come on mate.
Shalltry@reddit
I am talking about the current day
BraveSirWobin@reddit
Me too, buddy.
roctac@reddit
Crimea is Tatar no?
Ujemegaz@reddit
Tataristan is part of Russia, no?
urdespair@reddit
That's a) Tatarstan B) Crimean Tatars are completely different people and they are indigenous to Crimea
kwonza@reddit
Crimean Tatars weren’t much better off under Ukraine, that’s why they are not actively revolting or protesting right now. If you read FSB reports about people captured trying to do sabotage or provide information 99% of them are former Ukrainians or Russians, very few Tatars.
urdespair@reddit
That's just not true, lol. What are your sources?
kwonza@reddit
What’s not true, FSB reports or the fact that Crimean Tartars weren’t better off under Ukraine?
urdespair@reddit
Both. Oh, the famously reliable fsb reports, my beloved. And the famously trustworthy russian media
kwonza@reddit
So what you imply is they publish videos of Slavic saboteurs but don’t show the Tartars because they want to uphold their image or something?
urdespair@reddit
Why does this seem so wild to you? You may want to check Medjlis' (that's the official organisation that represents Crimean Tatars, banned in Russia, if course) sources, well, at least to counter-balance your sources.
Practical-Pea-1205@reddit
Russia gave Crimea to Ukraine in 1954. It's Ukrainian territory.
newpest16@reddit
In your head maybe. We are happy where we are now, don't worry about us :)
Ujemegaz@reddit
As our folk says, you take with one hand and gibe with the other.
Ashenveiled@reddit
Crimea tried to leave Ukraine in 1993
Excellent_Jeweler_43@reddit
He never said that Russia did nothing wrong, he has said many times though that Europe has massively fumbled the entire Ukraine war and I agree 100%.
That of course somehow makes you pro-Russian on the reddit echochamber where any opinion outside of the mainstream makes you a nazi, somehow
VLAON6@reddit
Yeah Ukraine should just give up, right? All radev is saying is that Europe should not send any aids and Ukraine should just give the land stolen from them
treba_dzemper@reddit
Well unlike Orban who did say that, he said "Bulgaria will send no aids", but also that he will not veto decisions like that as long as they don't expect Bulgaria to pipe in.
Excellent_Jeweler_43@reddit
Please go and actually listen to some of his interviews on the matter, Radev is amongst the very few leaders in the EU with actual millitary background.
What he has been the most vocal about is against the counteroffensive that absolutely wrecked Ukraine
LibertyChecked28@reddit
Yea, when was Ukraine suppoused to take back Crimea again?
DamoDimitrov@reddit
Utter bullshit. Everyone saying that is a manipulated braindead moth
alkorisno@reddit
EU propaganda. They call everyone that is not willing to go to war with Russia, pro Russian.
ivandr02@reddit
As others have pointed out the topic is very complex, but looking at his past actions and coincidence it is fair to assume that he would have a more friendly stance towards Russia. It's an exaggeration, but it's not entirely without merit.
zahvurlenakaunt@reddit
he is pro Russian - there is no doubt about it. But whether he is an actual fanatic or he is trying to be more balanced than the other fanatics, this time will show.
We hope he would be like the current new PM (or what he claims to be) of Hungary - pro-Bulgaria - have some spine with some of the ridiculous EU politics, while being clear that Russia is the bad guy after all.
But this isn't an easy balance to achieve,.but majority of the Bulgarians who voted for him want this. We have too many internal issues to resolve hence why people cannot be bothered to think as an aristocrat helping countries around.
So if he is successful about internal politics, this would be the best we ever got, regardless of his external stance.
There is no way we leave EU or any other such, there is no point of it for anyone.
I think this is just another successful campaign of the western media to show how 'Russia' always meddles in politics of EU countries though this is probably the first time Bulgaria had such fair voting. And people have mostly voted for being neutral, then for pro-Ukraine and then for pro-Russia
It's kind of funny when your entire political parties campaigns revolves around Ukraine (poor people) but it is what it is
DriveByAtanCivciv@reddit
European media do be doing propaganda like crazy these a few months hold up let people chose their leader
DriveByAtanCivciv@reddit
Also like you are in a serious union with these guys and when your state sponsored media pulls out that harsh stance against a newly elected it isn't really cool ıtk. I don't know the guy he might be an orban v2 or a casual slavic guy but going this hard on narratives to a degree to mock them can not be good for relations. Also people who lives in an ex communist state without the luxury you have in the west can cause them to have a different mindset different than you which doesnt directly make them pro russian.
blumonste@reddit
You know what? They can put a stop to Trojan Horses by deciding by majority vote, not seeking unanimity. Then nobody would lose sleep over Putin's new puppets other than their own people.
treba_dzemper@reddit
This is likely to happen actually irrespective of Radev. Not too many people were big on keeping the power of veto in even when Orban lost.
Acework23@reddit
No, its propaganda from the opposition that knew they were getting obliterated by the one sane and honest person
National-Lemon7602@reddit
Yes, he is RuZian trojan horse and the people behind him.
RotShepherd@reddit
His whole campaign was glazing European prosperity and values. It's people that took small things he said and turned into it meaning pro Russian.
Effective_Push3271@reddit
He tried not to speak about foreign politics during his campaign. But he is famous about his sympathy for Russia. The phrase he is most famous of is "Crimea is Russian". Also in 2023 he had a severe confrontation with Zelensky.
Excellent_Jeweler_43@reddit
He also negotiated the ammo factory with Rheinmettal and it was during his cabinets that we pregressed towards both Schengen and the eurozone, so things are not exactly as black and white as people on reddit make them out to be
roctac@reddit
He was president when Bulgaria joined Schengen and Eurozone. So he had no influence on those decisions at all. Quite the contrary. He was pushing for a referendum vote.on joining the Euozone to stall it.
Excellent_Jeweler_43@reddit
He formed many of the temporary governments during this time, including the one with Petkov and Vasilev in it
roctac@reddit
One word: BOTASH. Lifeline for Putin absolutely no benefit for Bulgaria. Losing millions everyday.
Jose_Caveirinha_2001@reddit
Honestly, every single time I see these king of things I want to smash my own head.
The "pro-Russia" Bulgarian PM is a person aware of the legal status of oil refinery in Bulgaria. Essentially, who is the owner.
Are you really into stealing Russian assets because a crazy lunatic in US said he'll sell oil for a "better price"?
You are free to hate Russian as more as you can, but paying 5x more for fuel is pure stupidity. That's why EU is doomed.
muttley9@reddit
Didn't vote for him but realistically this is the second best outcome of the elections.
For the last 5 years no party could get enough votes to rule without a coalition with the mafia parties. When the pro-EU liberal party tried a compromise with a rotating government with the mafia to avoid yet another election, their reputation got destroyed.
Radev played a political center during the instability and gained a lot of support. He leans concervative but tries to remain in the center for popularity. I doubt he will go too crazy for Russia.
The former mafia government was an EU and US ass kissers in exchange of stealing EU funds.
In theory Radev and the the pro-EU liberals want to change the constitution in order to remove a lot of corruption. Together they have the needed 2/3 to do this, so they are forced to work together. The other options are the mafia and Radev won't destroy his reputation like that.
It wasn't a pro Russia vote as much as anti mafia internal politics. We can only wait for now.
Rock_Zeppelin@reddit
If he wants an end to the political crisis we've had for the last 5 years then no, he's not. His only viable option for a stable government or any reform is a coalition with the liberals. He doesn't have the majority in parliament to do what he wants.
FerrosCamille@reddit
He does have majority in parliament tho - 130 out of 240 places. No need for a coalition.
muttley9@reddit
He needs 2/3 to change the constitution which means a coalition with the liberals.
One_Artist6770@reddit
It's just fascism vs communism 2.0 only this time the west is commie and the east is nazi. It is what it is in the Age of Recycling where the genie is dead, we'll have to wait a couple centuries till another visionary pops up and drag the idiot carriage forward
LordQuaz12@reddit
It's complicated. Radev has gone on record to be a pro Russia and pro Putin. Will he become the next Orban? I don't really see that, but the issue with Radev is more complex than just him being "pro russia".
hihimorius@reddit
'Radev has gone on record to be a pro Russia and pro Putin" - that's not true.
LordQuaz12@reddit
He has proven to be pro Russia. He didn't say those words i that order, but he has shown himself to be a useful Russian asset.
PresnikBonny@reddit
This election is like what? The 10th Bulgaria has had in just 4 years?
Rapid-Frost771@reddit
Perhaps something like: 'It definitely *felt* that way for a while! But it looks like they might finally have a stable government now.'
morbihann@reddit
It is different, because they did win majority and will not need to form any coalition.
Also, yes, he is a PoS that formed a party in literally a few weeks and also literally, hasn't expressed any concrete ideas or policies except for vague "we should have dialogue for peace".
Rock_Zeppelin@reddit
Yes he will need a coalition if he wants to do a judiciary reform. Which was one of his main promises. And the only viable candidate for that are the liberals.
petar_is_amazing@reddit
A little clarification:
His party is the government so he doesn’t need a coalition to just maintain stability and rule.
If he wants to make judicial reform, he needs 67% of representatives on his side but I don’t know if that’s necessarily a coalition vs working together with the other parties to agree on changes for 1 specific bill for example
Rock_Zeppelin@reddit
If 2 of the other parties won't agree to the reforms because said reforms target them explicitly then their options for parties to work with are liberals, who have the sufficient number to push the reforms and fascists, who don't.
Manaus125@reddit
8th in 5 years.
Lazy_Following3564@reddit
The political crisis ends with Radev winning the majority. For the next 4 years, there will not going to be another election unless he does something stupid.
Kaer__Morhen@reddit
Yeah but he won the majority without reviving the dead as our paladin Vuçić does
Apatride@reddit
This time it is different (I know, famous last words) since he got the majority at the parliament so he has the opportunity to actually build a government. That is, unless external actors get involved.
No-Championship-4632@reddit
He is a slippery populist more than a Russian asset. His voter base consists of both pro-Russian right-wing people and pro-EU folks that voted him because he campaigned on rooting out the GERB/DPS corruption, including their loyalists installed in the judiciary system and regulators. So I believe any sudden move in any direction would instantly cost him like half of his support or maybe more. Thus, I believe he would be passive on external policies (mostly empty talk with nothing to back it up). Bulgaria is dependant on euro funding and the economy is very much dependant on the broader EU economy, so he is very unlikely to become the next Orban as in vetoing anything in Russia's interests. On the other hand, he would demonstrate zero initiative in sending Ukraine, this plus the rhetoric which he used to appropriate the voter support of the small pro-Russian parties is what really leads to both local and foreign media labeling him "the next Orban". Which I believe is wrong, he is more like Fico. Also he has no balls.
I believe he will root out GERB/DPS corruption by switching that to PB corruption, the clientelist networks will mostly remain intact but they will switch allegiance to his party. I think GERB/Borisov is toast, this is the only thing that props them, but I would definitely not celebrate.
SaltyRenegade@reddit
Nah, it's just reddit propaganda. He won't leave NATO, EU and whatever else people are saying.
He claims that he won't be helping Ukraine, but won't veto EU decisions like Orban.
And we probably gonna start buying Russian gas at a better price.
Bulgaria is the poorest country in the EU, and accepting the Euro has just made the financial crisis worse.
So really, any decision that makes day to day life cheaper for the average Bulgarian, I'm in support of.
matrixplace@reddit
Only in the NPC’s minds.
alecpu@reddit
See, with bulgarian and in general balkan politics it's very simple. The political parties are actually apolitical. They only care about money. They get money from putin and let russian intelligence to meddle a lot in internal affairs, which being on their knees for eu funds. They would not force bulgaria out of anything, it's better to stay into the eu for russia, the eu and bulgaria itself
Andioop8384767@reddit
Not really, it’s just western media exaggerating bc he won’t ride their eu’s coattails
RestaurantBoring417@reddit
He also said Crimea is Russian, I mean that alone is more than enough proof that he is Putin's dog
Suitable-Decision-26@reddit
He is... but he is not like Orban. In a recent interview he saind that for instance he won't help Ukraine, but won't stop anybody else who does i.e. no vetos. How long will this be... nobody knows.
Capital-Driver7843@reddit
Поживем увидим, said the wise people of Bulgaria.
According-Fun-4746@reddit
YES HE WILL ME MUST INVADE RUSSIA NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AchillesSlayedHector@reddit
That’ll depend on what (if any) favors are being owed. Anyway, that’s an irrelevant question now - votes have been cast and he’s the PM. The relevant question is whether his policies will be good for the Bulgarian people, and this can’t be answered at this time.
morbihann@reddit
He isnt the PM yet. We do not elect a PM.
Lazy_Following3564@reddit
If living in reality is pro-Russia, then yes.
Apatride@reddit
It depends on the definition. He will not be as anti-Russian as some people want him to be.
Hopefully he will do what is good for the country, regardless of ideologies pushed by the EU or the Kremlin.