Comment by Margarita Nikolova:
Where were you when Rumen Radev gave his last speech as president of Bulgaria and declared himself the savior of the nation? This question has the chance to become historical, i.e. one that will be present for years at the holiest place for political debate in our latitudes - the table. But the probability that this will not happen is just as high.
During Radev's statement, I was coming home from sports and wondering when I would be able to master the abdominal pull-up, deeply inspired by our head of state. I listened to the speech carefully and patiently. It caused irritation in me.
It was skillfully written – with traditional Bulgarian Renaissance vocabulary and deliberately simplified syntax. The president also asked for forgiveness - as a moral gesture. He indicated that he was aware of his mistakes, but did not specify exactly what he meant.
Quite expectedly, Rumen Radev positioned himself as a natural ally of the protests of late 2025. He made an indirect call to be recognized as the entity that will materialize the "broad public consensus against the mafia" in the upcoming parliamentary elections. In his speech, the outgoing president also sought the favor of young Bulgarians, paying special attention to their moral choice. "At the autumn protests, young Bulgarians clearly stated that they did not want to leave Bulgaria", he said.
Why Radev cannot be the logical choice of young people
In this regard, however, I have the following message for him: Mr. Radev, you cannot be the logical choice of young, pro-European and anti-corruption-oriented Bulgarians, no matter how much you try to convince them otherwise.
For days now, I have been talking on the topic with young people from different social, academic and professional backgrounds. Right at the beginning of the conversation, I ask them a few questions that are key to me. Should the European Union, and with it Bulgaria as a full member, support Ukraine in every way in the war? What would a just peace look like? Are you for or against the adoption of the euro in Bulgaria?
Without any claims to a representative sample, the answers so far are in favor of supporting Ukraine and the need for it to preserve its territorial integrity, as well as in defense of the euro. This basis makes the further conversation extremely easy to conduct - for the simple reason that Radev takes an almost 180-degree position.
For him, all those who support Ukraine are warmongers - he did not fail to note this in his last speech as president, and Crimea is Russian. Although he has never declared himself categorically against the euro, the outgoing president has repeatedly expressed skepticism about the manner and timing of its adoption. On Europe Day last year, he officially proposed holding a referendum, further deepening the division in society along the lines of a commitment that Bulgaria made when it joined the European Union. I will not stop repeating that this was in absolute contradiction with his official role as a unifier of the nation.
In his speech on Monday, Radev also tried to position himself as a sideline observer of the conquest of the state, neglecting his own participation in the political scene over the past nine years and the lack of concrete and categorical actions against corruption in the country. Raising a fist in the air and populist speech are an eyesore and categorically insufficient to turn him into a true anti-corruption activist.
"It's too late for anything else – a false hero"
For all these reasons, Radev cannot be the logical choice of young, pro-European and anti-corruption-oriented Bulgarians, and his attempts to convince them otherwise solidify his image as a false hero.
"And I remain, and I remain, that's how I remain – "It's too late for anything else - a fake hero", sings Todor Kolev in one of his most iconic songs. I sincerely believe that young Bulgarians are capable of exposing fake heroes.
They know very well that the "perfect life" - from the chick with flawless skin, to the 20-year-old hunk in an expensive car, to excursions to far-flung destinations - which they observe on social networks every day, is not the whole truth. And this is precisely what prompts them to seek the authentic, the unadulterated. And Radev is anything but that.
In 2025, young Bulgarians showed that they are fully aware of #Who is preventing them from building their lives in Bulgaria. The youth energy that was unleashed and led to the organization and participation in protest actions, the association in student organizations, the development of creative formats for political education on social networks, etc., gave a clear demand for the lasting democratization of an entire generation.
I am convinced that the young generation of Bulgaria will confirm these intentions in the upcoming elections in 2026. It is precisely this change in our society that no one in Bulgaria has the moral right to turn a blind eye to.