President Iliyana Yotova is the politician with the highest public approval in the country, and the government of Prime Minister Rumen Radev begins its mandate with a positive institutional balance, but also with serious expectations for real results. This is shown by a nationally representative survey by "Alpha Research", conducted between July 17 and 23, 2026 among 1,000 adult Bulgarians, quoted by "Focus".
The information was collected through a direct standardized interview with tablets at the homes of the respondents.
According to the survey, Yotova enjoys 50% approval against 29% disapproval, which provides her with the highest political rating in the country. Sociologists note that this result gives a strong start to her candidacy for president, announced after the end of the survey.
Three months after the formation of the "Radev" cabinet; 42% of those surveyed give a positive assessment of the government's work, 33% are critical, and a quarter maintain a neutral position. The prime minister's personal rating remains higher than that of the cabinet – 48% approval versus 31% disapproval, which according to the authors of the survey shows that public trust in it compensates for some of the criticism of the government.
Despite the positive start, the majority of Bulgarians are not convinced that the cabinet is dealing with the country's main problems. A total of 58% question the preparation, reform capacity or reactions of the government in various policies.
For the first time, "Alpha Research" also presents a "Government Policy Effectiveness Index", which measures the extent to which citizens believe that the government offers successful solutions to the most important public problems. The total value of the index is 26.4% at a threshold of 50%, which is considered an indicator of effective government.
The most serious discrepancy between public expectations and perceived results is in prices, the fight against corruption, healthcare, road safety, infrastructure and public finances. Rising prices are identified as a major problem by 81% of respondents, and the fight against corruption by 72%, but only about a quarter of citizens believe that successful measures are being taken on these issues.
The survey also reports some improvement in attitudes towards the National Assembly. The new parliament started with 20% approval – higher than the levels observed in recent years, although negative assessments continue to prevail.
In terms of party preferences, "Progressive Bulgaria" remains a convincing leader with 41.6% support. In second place is GERB with 13.1%, followed by "We continue the change" with 6.6%, "Democratic Bulgaria" with 6.1%, DPS with 5.2% and "Vazrazhdane" by about 4%.
According to the conclusion of "Alpha Research", the ruling party has a significant electoral lead and positive assessments of the key institutions and individuals in power. However, public support remains conditional and will increasingly depend on the ability of the cabinet to turn political stability into concrete and measurable results on the issues most important to citizens.