Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria Wins Majority on April 19
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- Bulgaria held parliamentary elections on April 19, marking the eighth election in five years.
- Progressive Bulgaria, the party founded by former President Rumen Radev, secured a parliamentary majority.
- GERB‑led government resigned in December 2025 after large‑scale Gen‑Z‑led protests, setting the stage for the April 19 election.
- Rumen Radev served as president from 2017 until earlier this year and has urged Europe to reopen dialogue with Russia.
- Bulgaria is the EU’s poorest member state and has the highest Gini coefficient, reflecting stark regional and social inequality.
- Revival barely passed the 4 % electoral threshold needed for parliamentary representation.
Why it matters: Radev’s win hands his Progressive Bulgaria absolute control of parliament, sidelining the GERB‑DPS bloc and the PP‑DB liberals while leaving Bulgaria’s entrenched corruption networks in a stronger position; ordinary Bulgarians, already burdened by high living costs and unequal EU benefits, face a government that may prioritize oligarch‑funded projects over health‑care and environmental safeguards.
