Rumen Radev has come a long way from a junior pilot in Ravnets to an unavoidable factor in the 52nd parliament, bTV recalled.
During his military training in the United States, Rumen Radev also received his pilot call sign - Moses, because of his ability to lead in air battles.
One of the most prominent fighter pilots in our Air Force, in 2014 the general also became their commander.
Rumen Radev stepped into the presidency in 2016. In his very first appearances, he came into conflict with the parliament.
„My credo is few words, but effective actions. You have one more week“, he said then in parliament.
And he made strong enemies. In the summer of 2020, the prosecutor's office, led by Ivan Geshev, detained two of Radev's advisers in the presidency on suspicion of leaking classified information and trading in influence. What happened unleashed a wave of protests.
The moment coincided with Bulgaria's entry into the waiting room for the eurozone.
The protests were marked by clashes and police violence under the pillars of power.
This was also the beginning of the political crisis in our country. In the following years, the country entered a spiral of elections - nine with today's vote. Rumen Radev won a second term.
For the nine years of “Dondukov“ 2 Radev appoints a total of seven caretaker governments, and they give birth to new political projects such as “We continue the change“.
“It was a mistake that I gave a chance at all and allowed such people to steal our hopes for change. But just as we outlived the autocratic model, we will outlive this charlatanry“, says Rumen Radev.
There are dozens of reasons for conflicts - from Radev's position that the war in Ukraine should be resolved diplomatically, to the deal with “Botas“, to the amendments to the Constitution voted by GERB, PP-DB and DPS, with which the election of a caretaker prime minister is reduced to a specific list.
The relationship between the president and parliament is reaching a freezing point. The question is increasingly being asked whether the president will enter the political arena.
2026 came with the euro, but also with fears and calculations that erupted into dissatisfaction unseen in years after the proposed draft for the first European budget, as well as with a new precedent - the president himself terminated his mandate.
In his election campaign, Rumen Radev did not extend a hand to any of the other parties and did not leave the answer to the question of who he would board the plane of power with for election night.