Bulgarian President Radev Steps Down, Eyes New Political Party

Political Landscape in Bulgaria

By Ivana Sekularac, Edward McAllister and Stoyan Nenov

Radev's Political Ambitions

SOFIA, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said on Monday he will resign, fuelling speculation that he will form his own political party to run in upcoming parliamentary elections after the previous government quit last month. 

Impact of Resignation on Elections

Radev, who was due to hold the largely ceremonial post until January 2027, said he will submit his resignation to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday. If approved, he will be replaced by Vice President Iliana Iotova until presidential elections in November. 

Public Support and Coalition Prospects

Radev, who has expressed scepticism about Bulgaria's recent move to join the euro and has taken Kremlin-friendly positions on the war in Ukraine, was elected president in 2016 and again in 2021. 

But his political ambitions have widened and he has long floated the possibility of forming his own party to bring stability and fight graft in one of the European Union's poorest and most corrupt countries. 

“Today’s political class has betrayed Bulgarians’ hopes," he said in a speech. "We need a new public contract."

RESIGNATION COMES AMID POLITICAL CRISIS

Radev's move to step down, widely expected in the Balkan country, comes amid a years-long political crisis that sees Bulgaria heading towards its eighth parliamentary election in four years. 

A fragmented parliament has meant that a series of election winners have failed to win majorities or create lasting coalitions.

The previous government lasted nearly a year until protests against a new budget and widespread corruption forced it to resign in December. Elections are expected in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Radev, a former air force commander who was voted in as president in 2016 and 2021, has repeatedly had to appoint interim governments, raising his profile and his own political ambitions, analysts and Western diplomats said. 

Radev has waited for the opportunity to become "a saviour from the chaos", said Tihomir Bezlov, a senior fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy in Sofia. 

HEALTHY SUPPORT BUT LIKELY NOT A MAJORITY

Still, analysts say that while Radev has popular support, he is unlikely to win an outright majority if he forms a new party and runs in elections. A nationwide poll published last week by Bulgarian consultancy Market Links said that 44% of respondents trusted Radev, versus 34% who did not. 

Market Links' managing director, Dobromir Zhivkov, said Radev would likely get somewhere between 20% and 35% of votes in a parliamentary election and would have to seek a coalition partner, which could be the reformist PP-DB party. 

Much remains unclear. PP-DB will likely be uncomfortable with Radev's Kremlin-friendly stance against sending military aid to the war effort in Ukraine, which he has described as "doomed". His scepticism about joining the euro, which Bulgaria did on January 1, could also be a sticking point. 

(Additional reporting by Alex Lefkowitz in Sofia; writing by Ivana Sekularac and Edward McAllister; Editing by Ros Russell)