Bulgarian elections: has Radev forced the “political animal” Borissov into retirement?

The euphoria surrounding the rise of Rumen Radev, who secured an absolute majority, drowned out the noise from the collapse of the politician with the most election victories in Bulgaria – GERB leader Boyko Borissov.

This is not an ordinary retreat by a veteran winner in the face of a new political player, but a much deeper erosion of a model that for a long time seemed stable – even impenetrable to scandals. Compromising phone recordings, photos of his bedside table with gold bars and bundles of 500-euro notes, revelations about “prosecutorial umbrellas” – all of these bounced off the “Teflon” Borissov.

But his ties to the oligarch Delyan Peevski, who has been sanctioned for corruption by the United States and the United Kingdom, were not forgiven by voters. Peevski and the DPS party he leads embody the backstage power structure. The mass protests in December 2025 demanded the dismantling of the “Borissov-Peevski” model.

In the elections on 19 April, GERB-SDS barely held on to second place. The party found itself dangerously close to third, with a result almost tied with the “We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria” (PP-DB) coalition – just 13.4%, or around 430,000 votes. This is a dramatic collapse: a result four times weaker than in July 2009, when Borissov won his first election victory with nearly 1.7 million votes and seemed politically unshakeable.

The gap between first and second has never been as huge as it was on 19 April – Radev’s “Progressive Bulgaria” formation leads by 30% over GERB. Pre-election sociological surveys had given the then-outgoing president only a threefold smaller lead.

During GERB’s three governments, Borissov became the biggest predator on the Bulgarian political scene, weakening all his coalition partners. After the latest elections, the leader vowed on Facebook “no coalitions and no unprincipled assemblies,” but he has still not taken responsibility for GERB’s weakest election result since the party was founded.

Three weeks before the 19 April vote, Borissov was unanimously re-elected as party leader for a new four-year term. There were no other candidates for the post, nor any votes “against” or “abstentions.”

No EPP cheerleading this time

For many years, the GERB leader enjoyed the support of prominent figures from his political family – the European People’s Party (EPP). Having emerged with the help of the Bavarian Christian Social Union, GERB enjoyed good contacts with the EPP for a long time.

In 2020, during the protests against the GERB government, the EPP not only defended Borissov in a European Parliament debate on the rule of law, but also tried – unsuccessfully – to weaken an EP resolution critical against Bulgaria. At the same time, its chairman Manfred Weber publicly expressed support for the government and stressed that the country needed Borissov.

Two years later, however, after Borissov’s arrest in 2022 during the “We Continue the Change” cabinet, Weber was much more cautious in his defence.

Unlike in 2024, when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Plovdiv for a GERB pre-election event, for the key April elections – with Rumen Radev’s victory announced well in advance – EPP envoys were absent.

In the lists led by Borissov in the 25th electoral district (Sofia) and in Plovdiv-city, he came third in votes won, after the candidates of “Progressive Bulgaria” and of PP-DB.

So far, Borissov has never taken personal responsibility after election defeats, including in July 2021, when GERB for the first time finished as the second political force after “There Is Such a People,” a newly created party by showman Slavi Trifonov. After that failure, GERB quickly recovered and once again became the dominant force in the 2023 local elections. Local power is the foundation of the party, but it appears that cracks have already appeared there, with mayors defecting to Radev’s camp.

The victory of “Progressive Bulgaria” with an absolute majority in the future 52nd parliament changes the balance of power. GERB risks being excluded from participation in the most important selection process – the election of members of the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS), and thus from the choice of a new chief prosecutor. The last three owe their elevation precisely to the “Borissov-Peevski” tandem.

The election of judicial system officials requires 160 parliamentary votes. Radev’s “Progressive Bulgaria” will seek partnership with PP-DB. According to preliminary data, the two formations will have more than that number of MPs combined. “Most likely, we will look in the same direction with PP-DB when electing the new VSS,” Radev stated.

No one in GERB has so far challenged Borissov’s leadership position, even though the party has built a governing elite over the years. After this electoral collapse, however, the question of his withdrawal from the leadership post no longer seems unthinkable.

The people’s leader

If Borissov embodied the era of backstage deals and control over institutions, Radev is signalling the dismantling of this model. His future government – most likely a single-party one – will soon be measured by results in domestic reforms and foreign policy.

Radev has already spoken of pragmatic dialogue with Russia and remains sceptical towards sanctions and military aid for Ukraine – positions that have drawn comparisons with the former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán. Nevertheless, after his convincing victory, he will probably seek external legitimacy through closer ties with European leaders, while Orbán-style rhetoric is more for domestic consumption, commented Maria Simeonova, director of the Sofia office of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). She believes that “as a former pilot, Radev may prioritise the modernisation of the army and the strengthening of defence capabilities – areas in which cooperation with both the EU and NATO will remain essential.”

The first signals from Brussels are cautiously positive. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has already spoken with Radev and expressed expectations for continued cooperation in the field of security. Congratulations also came from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

For Vessela Cherneva, deputy director of ECFR, the most important task facing Radev’s government will not be foreign policy, but rather the liberation of Bulgarian institutions from the captivity of the oligarchic Borissov-Peevski tandem. “For this, he would receive the support of the reformist pro-European coalition (PP-DB) in parliament,” she says.

Cherneva notes that after Orbán’s defeat in the Hungarian elections, Radev will have no support at the European Council table to play the role of a blocking factor. In conditions of economic crisis, he will not risk the freezing of EU funds, she says.

The elections on 19 April are not simply a change at the top of one party for another, but the end of a model that has defined Bulgarian politics for years.

Boyko Borissov, who turned every victory into greater control, is now in retreat. And Rumen Radev has received a huge credit of trust with an absolute majority in parliament. Now comes the hard part – governing.

Caption: A man passes in front of a campaign billboard of the GERB-SDS party in Sofia, Bulgaria, 17 April 2026. Bulgaria is heading to its eighth snap parliamentary election in five years on 19 April, triggered by a government resignation following the rejection of the 2026 state budget. EPA/BORISLAV TROSHEV