The Bulgarian Populist Eurosceptic Right and the War in Ukraine

The paper explores the similarities and differences in the policies of the main populist Eurosceptic right formations in Bulgaria –Vazrazhdane, Mech and Velichie – towards the war in Ukraine. The work is based on analysis of the political documents, political behavior and the election results of the parties. In the first part of the paper, I demonstrate that while all three of the parties show a strong interdependence between Euroscepticism, populism and refusal to support Kyiv, there are some important differences. On the one hand, Velichie and Mech, for example, are less extreme than Vazrazhdane in the manifestation of their Euroscepticism. On the other hand, all three of the formations appear to be more moderate than Ataka, the archetypical Bulgarian Populist Radical Right (PRR) party which has now lost its significance in the political system. In my view, at least some of the Bulgarian populist Eurosceptic right has purposefully softened its tone, in order to appeal to the more moderate voters. I support this hypothesis with an analysis of the electoral volatility. In the second section of the work, I trace the impact of the connections of Vazrazhdane, the main populist right Eurosceptic formation in the National Assembly at the moment, to other PRR in Europe. I show how the policies and rhetoric of Vazrazhdane towards the war in Ukraine compare to these of AfD, Rassemblement national, etc. In the final, third part of the paper, I compare side by side the policies towards Ukraine, the specific ‘brands’ of Euroscepticism and populism of Vazrazhdane, Mech and Velichie with those of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). While both the BSP and the populist right defend the view that Bulgaria must not send troops or weapons in support of Ukraine, the Euroscepticism of the socialists is, as a whole, more tamed. The BSP, unlike its populist right colleagues, does not strive to take Bulgaria out of the EU. Based on the research of public opinion in the country as well as the global influence of the policies of the new American administration under Trump, I end the paper with the forecast that the niche of populist, right-wing Eurosceptic parties in Bulgaria will probably become increasingly radicalized in the near future. Furthermore the parties in this niche will likely play an even more important role in the political processes.