The first election debate took place on NOVA. It is on the topic of “How will we catch up with the Europeans: about the income of Bulgarians and about Bulgaria's place in the club of the rich“.
Less than a month before the early parliamentary vote, the campaign is already entering a decisive phase. In the studio, Alexander Pulev from “Progressive Bulgaria“, Delyan Dobrev from GERB-SDS, Vladislav Panev from “Continuing Change - Democratic Bulgaria“, Tsoncho Ganev from “Vazrazhdane“ and Ivan Krastev from „BSP - United Left”.
The debate is divided into the following rounds:
FIRST ROUND: What is the most important thing we will do for the income of Bulgarians?
According to the regulation, the first in the first round starts with the representative of the party with the highest percentage in the latest survey by the „Trend“ agency, commissioned and financed by "24 hours" in the period 13-19 March 2026, among 1001 people.
„The main goal of „Progressive Bulgaria“ is accelerated and sustainable economic development, higher incomes, decent pensions and a higher quality of life. Another main message in our platform is the dismantling of the oligarchy in order to meet people's expectations for justice, to limit corruption and the drain of state and public resources. This is a mandatory prerequisite for us to be able to build a new and competitive economy. This was stated by Alexander Pulev, who is the leader of the list of “Progressive Bulgaria“ in Stara Zagora.
According to him, the political formation puts “the person at the center of all their policies”. “We will work for a strong social state, supported by a strong economy, quality institutions and a better quality of life”, he emphasized.
Pulev was categorical that they do not promise “miracles”. “We will work for tax and fiscal stability, for powerful support for Bulgarian business, decisive intervention to reduce the administrative burden, regulatory predictability, high-quality exports and a raw material base on which to build our production capacities”, he pointed out.
”We do not need to promise. It is enough for people to look around themselves and take stock of everything that has happened in the last 15 years. The results of GERB's governance are visible everywhere around us. The lack of results in the last 3 years is also clearly visible. So we do not need to promise – people know what we can”. This was stated by Delyan Dobrev, who is the leader of the GERB-SDF list in the 24th MIR – Sofia and the 29th MIR – Haskovo.
In his words, we need to take stock of where we were in 1989 and where we are now. “In 1989 - at the beginning of the Transition, Bulgaria was in absolute last place in Europe. It was a small country with a small population and almost no chance of overtaking some of its main competitors”, he recalled. ”Currently, with entering the eurozone, we are in the middle of the ranking in Eastern Europe. We have overtaken countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. We have already introduced the euro, while they are trying to do it, but do not meet the conditions and cannot”, Dobrev added.
”In the last administrations in which we participated, we proved that incomes in Bulgaria can grow faster than inflation. In recent years, our country has no longer been in last place in the European Union in terms of purchasing power of income. Hungary is in this position. Our vision is that incomes can grow not by command-administrative means, that is, by taking on 18 billion in debt”. This was stated by Vladislav Panev, who is in second place on the list of “We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria“ in the 29th MIR - Haskovo and in fourth place on their list in Plovdiv.
According to him, incomes in Bulgaria can grow only through the competitiveness of the economy - private business must be free, with fewer regulations, so that “all boats lift together“. “In this way, the budget can be filled, and accordingly, the budget salaries can be higher. There is no way for the state to provide higher incomes on its own. Some say that the last five years have been chaos. For me, they were a necessity for the transition from an oligarchic type of economy to a free market economy”, he emphasized.
“If in 2025 Bulgaria was at the bottom of all rankings in terms of purchasing power and our general economic situation, then just a year later things became even worse. We are all seeing and experiencing the entry into the eurozone through the prices we are currently observing and the consequences this process has led to. What is happening is disastrous for business”. This was stated by Tsoncho Ganev, who is the leader of the “Vazrazhdane“ lists in 23 MIR - Sofia and 2 MIR - Burgas.
According to him, within just one month, production and everything in the manufacturing sector in general has fallen by 8.6%. “The Bulgarian Stock Exchange is recording a serious decline and is already realizing turnover comparable to that of a large store. At the same time, the loans that the state takes out have increased by over 50%, and expenses are also increasing. At the same time, Bulgaria last year accepted 46 thousand foreign workers, and in parallel with this it is claimed that there are no Bulgarian workers”, he pointed out. Ganev was categorical: “This must be stopped. We from “Vazrazhdane“ know how to stop it”.
SECOND ROUND: Everyone against everyone: About the income of Bulgarians
In the second round, the second party with the highest percentage of voters according to the “Trend“ survey speaks first. This is GERB-SDF and Delyan Dobrev. It is important to say that this is a crossfire on the topic of the income of Bulgarians – each of the participants asks one question to each of their opponents, and there are four of them, within 20 seconds. The opponent answers within 1 minute.
Delyan Dobrev from GERB-SDF asked Pulev a question related to the country's energy policy: “13 years ago in Bulgaria we introduced a moratorium on the exploration and production of shale gas. During this period, technologies have developed significantly and there are now methods that do not use chemicals, but only water and sand. We all know the benefits of cheaper gas. Would you support a national consensus to change the moratorium so that the ban on technologies that do not use chemicals is lifted?“
Pulev answered as follows: “As a basic policy and measure to combat impoverishment, we have set various actions related to food security. We envisage short supply chains in the food sector, as well as incentives for the creation of cooperatives. I am constantly among the people and talk to them. I was recently in Dobrich, where I met with a number of small agricultural producers“.
The same question was asked by Delyan Dobrev to the other participants.
“The war in the Middle East has led to both energy and food markets being under serious stress. In this sense, both energy and food independence for Bulgaria are a particular priority. As for gas specifically, there are conventional gas projects in Dobrudzha, in particular General Toshevo, as far as I know, which are not covered by this moratorium from 13 years ago and which have nevertheless been stopped by the local Environmental Agency. As for shale gas exploration - if the technologies are good enough, and this should already be said by experts and, accordingly, by the Ministry of Environment, such a debate could be held, including with the people of the Dobrich region, on whether it is good to extract shale gas in Bulgaria“, believes Vladislav Panev.
“I believe that on this topic the political forces should have a clear and distinct position, since this is an extremely important problem. We from “Vazrazhdane” have been consistent over the years, and we will be now. We are the ones who organized the protests in Dobrich years ago in order to stop the “shale gas” madness,” explained Tsoncho Ganev.
“BSP also has an active and consistent position against the extraction of shale gas. Why should we develop such deposits when our access to cheap gas in fairly large quantities is currently interrupted as a result of political reasons. We have the opportunity to start talks, as indicated by the US with the Russian Federation as the closest major producer to us, to import the necessary quantities of gas. But let's not politicize the issue. The reason the economy is currently in this situation is the war in the Middle East. The BSP puts peace-oriented actions first in its program, claims Ivan Krastev.
Then Vladislav Panev asked Pulev about the contract with “Botas“ and the financial condition of “Bulgargaz“. In his response, Pulev emphasized that attempts have been made to renegotiate and better use the capacity, including through talks with Turkey and Azerbaijan.
To Delyan Dobrev, Panev asked about the growing state debt and whether GERB-SDF is pursuing a left-wing policy. Dobrev replied that the trend of increasing debt began before their rule, indicating that other political forces also bear responsibility.
On the topic of the European Union, Panev turned to Ganev with a question about life outside it. Ganev gave a critical assessment of the current situation in the country, stating that there is life both outside the EU and outside NATO.
The question to the BSP representative Krastev was related to the increase in product taxes. He explained that this is the result of European commitments.
For his part, Ganev also asked questions to his opponents. To Pulev, he raised the topic of the referendum and the eurozone, and in his response Pulev defended Rumen Radev's position.
The question to Dobrev was directed at the sanctions against Russia and the risk of international affairs. Dobrev stated that support for sanctions should continue until the end of the war.
Regarding carbon quotas, Ganev turned to Panev, who explained that the burden falls on business and supported the search for a European consensus to reduce prices.
The last question was for Krastev and concerned the foreign policy decisions and policies of the Bulgarian Socialist Party. He rejected some of the criticisms made and emphasized that the decisions of the Council of Ministers are made collectively.
Krastev's first question was for Ganev and concerned his position on the flat tax. In his response, Ganev stated that he supports a transition to progressive income taxation, arguing this with the low incomes of the majority of Bulgarians.
Then Krastev turned to Panev with a question about carbon emissions and the possibility of fixing their prices. Panev stressed that such a decision can only be made at the European level and does not share the thesis that the energy sector is in collapse.
A question was asked to Delyan Dobrev about social payments. He stated that he supports their increase, but without raising taxes and social security, and also defended the measures to compensate businesses. Krastev's last question was to Pulev and concerned the combination of social goals with right-wing economic policy. Pulev replied that they are betting on a strong economy that guarantees sustainable social results.
In the ensuing exchange of questions, Pulev turned to Dobrev on the topic of coal energy and the green transition. Dobrev stressed that he supports all decisions that lead to cheaper energy.
THIRD ROUND: Priorities for increasing incomes
In the third round, the third party with the highest percentage of voters according to the survey by the “Trend“ agency speaks first. This is PP-DB and Vladislav Panev. 15 minutes are provided for a free discussion or debate on the priorities of a state for increasing the incomes of Bulgarians, European salaries and pensions.
According to Vladislav Panev, Bulgaria can reach the average income in the EU in four years. “But this cannot happen, or rather it would be disastrous for the state if it happens only through debt collection and continuous overshooting of salaries in the public sector”, he emphasized.
And he was categorical that salaries in the public sector are higher than those in the private sector. “For the first time in 2025, the cost of salaries for state officials is greater than the cost of pensions, which is particularly worrying for me. Income growth can occur mainly through the private sector and freedom for it”, he emphasized.
Tsoncho Ganev replied that “these are just learned phrases”: “What can business really do? When it is currently paying such expensive electricity, a fuel price hike is coming, which is why everything is going up. It's all because of the eurozone. We will not catch up with anyone, but will only become much poorer”.
Delyan Dobrev agreed “to some extent with Panev's words”. “However, we should note that the geopolitical wars in recent years are being fought over energy resources. And here we have an energy resource that we are not using. It is about shale gas, which can be extracted without chemicals,” he pointed out.
Ivan Krastev emphasized that instead of conducting technological experiments – we have our own energy resource. “These are the deposits in the Maritsa Basin, a huge part of which has not been developed sufficiently. They can provide both jobs and cheap electricity for households for years”, he said.
According to Alexander Pulev “the revolution related to shale gas should not be aimed only at big business and corporate interests”. ”It should also protect the interests of the people. If this technology has advantages – "it must reach small businesses, and also landowners who fear that it will be poisoned," he said.
FOURTH ROUND: Free discussion
FIFTH ROUND: The parties' conclusions about the incomes of Bulgarians