Bulgaria’s parliament formally approved Rumen Radev, the 62-year-old former president, as prime minister on Friday, bringing his Progressive Bulgaria party to power with a comfortable majority and placing a figure known for both anti-corruption rhetoric and pro-Russian views at the head of the European Union’s newest eurozone member.
The chamber voted 124 to 70, with 36 abstentions, to confirm Radev’s government after his party won 131 seats in the 240-seat legislature during the April 19 snap election. Radev had resigned from the mostly ceremonial presidency in January—a few months before the end of his second term—to run for the more powerful office of prime minister, a step prompted by the collapse of the previous conservative government in December amid nationwide anti-corruption protests that drew hundreds of thousands of mainly young Bulgarians onto the streets.
“We have no illusions about the crises and trials facing the government, which will soon be seeking your support – galloping prices, budget, missing reforms, a severe global energy crisis and escalating conflicts,” Radev told lawmakers as he sought their backing.
Radev campaigned on a pledge to dismantle what he termed the “corrupt, oligarchic model of governance” and his popularity surged as he positioned himself against the country’s entrenched political and economic elites. On the campaign trail he repeatedly vowed to remove entrenched corruption from political power, a message that helped deliver his party’s landslide victory.
The new prime minister’s foreign-policy leanings are under intense scrutiny. Radev has long cultivated a euroskeptic and Moscow-friendly profile. Analysts note that while he is not expected to mirror the confrontational approach of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—not least because Bulgaria remains deeply dependent on European structural funds—he is likely to steer Sofia away from some of its current alignments.
“He will more likely seek to dilute Sofia’s support for Kyiv, for which Bulgaria is a key supplier of ammunition, and push for the resumption of Russian oil and gas imports, prioritizing lower-cost energy supplies,” Florence Thiéry, an analyst at the Credendo insurance group, said in written comments. “Despite these positions,” she added, “Bulgaria’s full accession to the Schengen Area and its recent adoption of the euro are expected to support continuity in foreign policy, making a reversal of its Euro-Atlantic stance unlikely.”
Radev, a former fighter pilot and air force commander, earned a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the U.S. Air War College in 2003. His support base is split between those who believe he will deliver on his promise to root out corruption and those who embrace his Russia-friendly and euroskeptic worldview. His government takes office as the country wrestles with accelerating prices, stalled reforms, and a severe energy squeeze—challenges Radev is now responsible for confronting from inside the prime minister’s office.