Bulgaria needs a pro-European president, but also one who would show with his actions that he will not tolerate corrupt practices that have become prevalent over the years.
This opinion was expressed to the Bulgarian National Radio by political scientist and lecturer at the Sofia University "St. Kl. Ohridski" Assoc. Prof. Daniel Smilov in connection with the round table on the topic "The Presidential Elections - the Democratic Community on the Road to Victory", held at the initiative of the DSB, adding:
"The democratic community should strive to nominate such a candidate for president. ... This community must keep in mind the two priorities - the geopolitical and the anti-corruption - and not sacrifice one at the expense of the other. We cannot constantly apologize for the international situation and not see the problems inside the country".
In his words, the effect of this forum is that "at least the main parties, which are located on the center-right in the political space and represent the democratic community in Bulgaria, are ready to nominate a common candidate for president":
"Everyone understands that if more than one candidacy is put forward in the presidential elections in 2026, it will be very difficult to reach a runoff. For now, this political goodwill that was demonstrated is sufficient, but it must be built on with other steps".
The need for unity in the democratic community was the other emphasis in the discussion, the political scientist emphasized and specified:
"There is too much fragmentation and polarization in Bulgaria. The broadcasting of a common candidacy also has such a goal - to guarantee unified representation".
According to Assoc. Prof. Daniel Smilov, President Rumen Radev is currently calculating what is better for him - whether to finish his term or to leave "Dondukov" 2 early:
"Perhaps he is considering leaving the presidential institution even before the end of 2025. The risk for him is if there are no early elections, because it will turn out that he has abandoned a fairly large advantage that he has as the acting president, for something that may turn out to be imaginary. These are Rumen Radev's hesitations.
The political scientist commented that if the president enters the field of pro-Russian parties, where the big player is "Vazrazhdane", it may turn out that some of the smaller parties there - "Velichye" and MECH - will drop out and perhaps the votes for them would be redirected to another larger formation, but there will still be some division between "Vazrazhdane" and a new formation.