The upcoming presidential elections in Bulgaria will inevitably reach a second round, with current President Iliana Yotova being one of the surefire participants in the runoff. This thesis was united by sociologist Kancho Stoychev, journalist Silvia Velikova and former minister Miroslav Sevlievski on NOVA, quoted by novini.bg.
According to experts, the great intrigue in the race is who will be able to stand up to Yotova, with the responsibility for fielding the strong right-wing candidate entirely falling on the shoulders of GERB.
Stoychev warned that if GERB misses this opportunity, it could mark the end of the party, while the MRF will not play the role of a key factor in this specific vote.
A serious discussion flared up in the studio regarding the profile of Iliyana Yotova and the future model of state governance. Miroslav Sevlievski raised the question of whether voters will prefer balanced tandems, or will it lead to a configuration of shared power, also touching on the topic of leadership in the presidential institution itself.
For her part, Silvia Velikova expressed the opinion that Yotova has a strong individual character and can impose her own opinion, and not simply be a mechanical continuation of the previous policy.
Kancho Stoychev added that she has proven herself to be a tolerant and combative politician, marking serious progress over the years. The experts also analyzed in detail the performance of the current cabinet “Radev“.
Velikova noted that Prime Minister Rumen Radev demonstrates strong political self-confidence and creates a sense of no alternative in governance, successfully going through severe crises such as the vote on the state budget and the disputes over American aircraft. She emphasized that many of the cabinet's mistakes are forgiven by society mainly because of people's disappointment with other political players.
At the same time, Sevlievski positively assessed the work of key ministers such as Ivan Demerdzhiev, Atanas Pekanov and Ivan Vassilev. Kancho Stoychev summarized that the current government acts more selectively and carefully in its public appearances, which is the right strategy given the huge number of accumulated problems in the country, requiring time for reforms.