Voting abroad brought serious surprises. DPS won the most votes among our compatriots abroad mainly because of the vote in Turkey.
to rank fourth. The strong performance of the populist parties in this vote is not a surprise.
However, the overflow of votes from one formation to another with a similar profile makes an impression, BNT comments.
Indicative in this respect is the vote in Great Britain.
in the elections on April 2, 2023 "Revival" winning 7112 votes. A year later, their support melted to 4,291 votes.
On the other hand, in the elections on Sunday, the newly established party "Greatness" takes 3172 votes on the Island under the condition that "Revival" lose over 2800.
With 100% of the sectional protocols processed, the result shows a strong performance of the national-populist parties "Revival" and "Greatness", which surpass even GERB-SDS - the leading political force in our country.
Rumen has been living and working in London for nearly 8 years. He was a bus driver. He is now in the insurance business. In the last election, his vote was one of 3,172 cast for the Greatness party.
"Before I came to England I worked for 14 years in the National Guard. Security of the National Assembly. I know a lot about politics, I've seen a lot, I've listened a lot", comments Rumen Petrov.
About 20 thousand Bulgarians voted in 118 polling stations in Great Britain. As in the previous elections last year, the most supporters are PP-DB, but this time the lead over the second force - "Vazrazhdane" is much smaller. The new party "Greatness" is the third power in the vote of the Island and even wins in some sections.
Rumen believes that nationalist parties are necessary to restore self-confidence to citizens.
"People must have had such searches, normal searches, that's why maybe from "Revival" to "Greatness", added Rumen Petrov to BNT.
On May 4, the leaders of "Greatness" meet in London with their supporters to present their ideas and gain support. The question that everyone is asking after the election is whether "Greatness" will be sustainable project or has short-term goals.
"I had such a thought, of course I could be lied to. Because we were lied to. At the time, I really liked the NDSV, the platform of the NDSV, there were also certain values there, then I was lied to," Rumen Petrov added.
One of the main doubts about "Greatness" is that it promotes pro-Russian interests.
"We're all looking for some kind of conspiracy, it's fashionable these days. It is very possible that there is such a thing. I am a person from the services and it is clear to me how people are recruited, I have studied recruitment and agency. I am absolutely aware of these things," added Rumen Petrov.
The surprising result for many also raised the question of how those who voted for the party view our membership in NATO and the European Union.
"Personally, the European Union also has a lot of "for" and "against". At this stage we are in, better stay in. We are in NATO, it is better to stay in NATO", Rumen Petrov also said.
Rumen voted for the first time in 8 years - this time he is convinced that "Greatness" won't let him down even though I've only been supporting them for 6 months. Sociologists are still looking for the voter profile of the party that caused a surprise in the election.