Immediately after the vote of the “Zhelyazkov“ cabinet; Alpha Research measured the initial attitudes towards the difficult-to-form regular government and its potential public support compared to the parliamentaryly elected cabinets over the past 15 years.
The end of the political crisis after seven consecutive elections and the opening of the horizon for the pursuit of longer-term public goals determines good starting positions for the “Zhelyazkov“ cabinet, albeit in the current complex coalition formula. Personal ratings and electoral support remain close to those registered in the last elections, which contributes to the feeling that in the absence of an alternative, the difficult decisions and compromises made by politicians are justified.
Public attitudes outline the following picture:
Forming a regular government is the preferred option over another early election. The frequent snap parliamentary elections over the past few years and the inability of them to resolve the political crisis in our country are a convincing argument in favor of seeking a different solution. Another reason for it is the growing doubt in Bulgarian society about the fairness of the elections. Therefore, taking into account the current situation and opportunities, 69% support the option of a “regular government“, while elections are a preferred alternative for only 19% of adult Bulgarians. Support for a regular government dominates among supporters of all parties, with the only exception being those of MECH, who are polarized on the topic.
Positive starting rating of the “Zhelyazkov“ cabinet. The initial assessments for it are in the ratio of 39% positive to 29% negative. The last regular government in which positive starting positions prevailed was that of Kiril Petkov (35%:23%), and with the highest starting potential in the last 15 years was the first government of Boyko Borisov from 2009 (47%:8%). GERB supporters are the most categorical in their support for the cabinet, followed by those of the MRF – MRF (of A. Dogan). The remaining participants in the government express more moderate but clear support for the government. Among the supporters of the opposition parties, there is prevailing skepticism, which is highest among the voters of MECH and PP-DB. For the former, the leading factor is the initial radicalism towards GERB, and for the latter - in addition to the differences with GERB on a number of issues, the failure of the coalition negotiations is also likely to be added.
The attitude towards Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov is polarized - 29% trust versus 26% distrust. The majority of those surveyed, 46%, have yet to form an opinion about him. This is a resource that can be won over to the Prime Minister's side if he is convincing enough with his positions and actions. The higher support for the government compared to that for the Prime Minister stems from the fact that R. Zhelyazkov is a political figure who is uniquely associated with GERB. That is why supporters of only this party stand categorically behind him. Supporters of the other partners in the ruling coalition are currently taking a neutral position towards Zhelyazkov.
President Rumen Radev has registered a positive trend in attitudes. In less than a year, positive assessments have increased by five, while negative assessments have decreased by seven percentage points, reaching an approval of 44%, against disapproval of 31%. One of the prerequisites for this development is that this is the only institution in the country's governance that has remained without serious upheavals in the last few years. The crisis in the political system, the failure of the parties to conduct a dialogue and reach solutions, incl. the erosion of parliamentary representation, bring bonuses to the head of state, despite his positions on some issues with which supporters of different parties do not agree.
There are no serious shifts and changes in trust in political leaders and electoral attitudes. The arrangement of the main political players repeats that of the last elections. In this sense, possible elections would not significantly change the situation, but would certainly help to deepen public disappointment with politicians.
GERB maintains its leading position, at a significant distance from the other parties, with a support of 26.0%. Boyko Borisov continues to have the highest trust, registering an increase in positive assessments (of three percent) and a decrease in negative ones (of two percent), reaching a trust of 24.4%, but still a significant distrust of 49.4%.
The contested rivalry for second place continues between PP-DB with 13.4% and Vazrazhdane with 13.1%. The co-chairs of “We continue the change“ have suffered image damage in recent months and currently Kiril Petkov has 10.4% trust against 68.4% distrust, and Assen Vassilev – 10.3% trust versus 68.2% distrust. From the coalition, Bozhidar Bozhanov is positioned with the relatively highest approval - 12.2% versus 38.6% disapproval, but also with a high share of people without an opinion. For Atanas Atanasov, the balance is negative in the ratio of 9.6%:51.9%. The leader of Vazrazhdane reports a minimal growth in positive, but also in negative assessments and as a result a negative balance in the ratio of 16.8%:55.9%.
The fourth is the DPS – New Beginning with 10.8% support, and its leader Delyan Peevski continues to enjoy the approval of 5.8% of adult Bulgarians and consolidate a high disapproval of 79.9%. The main competitors in the person of the DPS – DPS has 7.5% electoral support, and Ahmed Dogan has 6.2% positive and 67.1% negative assessments.
The BSP and ITN as participants in the government also stabilize their positions. The BSP retains support of 8.0%, and the leader Atanas Zafirov - 12.5% approval against 42.3% disapproval. 6.2% are ready to vote for ITN, and the attitude towards Slavi Trifonov has a positive trend and is 15.0% positive against 44.3% negative.
MECH retains its seat in parliament with 4.0%, and the leader Radostin Vassilev remains even less recognizable with 9.0% positive and 47.8% negative assessments.
The national survey by Alpha Research shows that the cabinet “Zhelyazkov“ starts work with good starting positions. At this stage, however, they rather reflect the relief from the end of the political crisis and the expectation of unblocking processes in a number of areas. Whether these expectations will be justified will depend on whether and how it will deal with the challenges in governance, as well as on the relations between the coalition partners. If it succeeds on these two fronts, it may be the first regular government after 2021 that has managed to implement a governance horizon longer than a few months.
This study is part of the regular monitoring of Alpha Research. It was conducted in the period January 15-20, 2025 among 1,000 adult citizens from across the country. It is published on the agency's website and is implemented with its own funds. A stratified two-stage sample with a quota based on the main socio-demographic characteristics was used. The information was collected through a direct standardized interview with tablets at the homes of the respondents.