Expect Russia to do ‘whatever possible’ to reassert influence in Bulgaria, outgoing PM warns
POLITICOApr 09
Bulgaria Approves Caretaker Govt, Sets Elections Date
The Facts
The Bulgarian parliament formally approved on Tuesday a caretaker government under Dimitar Glavchev, the GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) party-linked senior state officeholder that Pres. Rumen Radev appointed to run the country after the collapse of the ruling coalition.
Additionally, the presidential office announced that snap parliamentary elections have been called for June 9, coinciding with the vote for the country's members of the European Parliament.
The Spin
Anti-Russia narrative
As Bulgaria prepares for yet another election now that its pro-Western administration has collapsed, it's a matter of fact that the Kremlin, which for years abused its influence in the country to circumvent rules there, will do anything at its disposal to recover its strong clout. Countering Russian disinformation will be key to protecting the people's will.
Pro-Russia narrative
Despite the fact that Bulgaria has joined in the Western sanctions on Russia in connection with the war in Ukraine, the deep historic bonds between both nations remain rock solid. All this smear campaign about the Kremlin potentially promoting disinformation ahead of the June elections is merely an attempt to justify an imminent defeat.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that Bulgaria will have open borders with all Schengen Area members by March 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.