The trajectory of the Petkov government in Bulgaria: a pro-West model tried and broken at war

“On the Barricades” s05e05

In this episode of “On the Barricades,” hosts Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski take up the slew of events and underlying factors leading to the present crisis in Bulgaria, where the pro-West, formerly darling Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has lost a vote of non-confidence in the National Assembly on June 22, placing the country back into parliamentary breakdown. The Petkov government of technocrats and Ivy League graduates won the last election in a new formation, “We continue the change” (Prodalzhavame Promyanata), in November 2021. Despite lack of experience they seemed to uphold a semblance of minimal government functioning for a few months.

But with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February this year, Petkov had to make a critical decision on how to cling to power: and it would be by signaling his undivided allegiance to the Western powers who use Bulgaria as a tool in their geopolitical ambitions against Russia. Petkov chose the path of hard NATO lackey and enemy of Putin: refusing to pay for gas in roubles and even expelling 70 Russian diplomats from Bulgaria, calling the current challenges a Kremlin conspiracy against him. This despite the fact that there is no mass support for such antics or role for Bulgaria in a country where many feel sentimental ties to Russia.

The hosts look from this trajectory to the alternative figures who will run in a likely-near round of elections, as Bulgaria’s external orientation is called into question. These are the former army general Stefan Yanev, whom Petkov removed as Minister of Defense for his pro-neutrality stance on involvement in the war; and the fringe Revival party, who channel pro-Russian sentiment but seem to have no plan in place beyond that for when it comes to solving the massive economic and institutional problems Bulgaria faces.