Comment by Emilia Milcheva:
Even if he had come down with his fist raised to the protesters, President Rumen Radev would hardly have passed the 2020 approval bar. But what has changed? He uses the same rhetoric as the angry people - he talks about justice, resignation and immediate elections, about real change towards the rule of law and "recovery of statehood".
If in 2020, however, Radev could have gone out among the crowd and then returned to the presidency, today he would be forced to stay on the streets. In his first term, he was still accumulating political capital, and today he is preserving it.
Five years later
At first glance, it seems like everything is repeating itself. Both in 2020 and now, five years later, protesters are demanding the resignation of the government, the corrupt - out of power, the mafia - out of the state. Young people filled the streets and squares not only in Sofia, but the tidal wave also reached regional centers in Bulgaria and European capitals.
But today, on the protest posters, the image of Delyan Peevski is also a figure focusing civil discontent with corruption, lawlessness and clientelism in the state. Just like in 2013. At that time, Radev was the deputy commander of the Air Force (Air Force) and, at the proposal of the BSP-DPS government, he was proposed and confirmed as the commander of the Air Force at the end of June 2014 - when the last days of the "Oresharski" cabinet were underway.
Both support and stand aside
Although the president declares himself against the "atrocities of the oligarchy", today he stands aside from the protest itself - he does not physically participate and does not move among the people, although he encourages them to continue. Thus, some of the protesters perceive him as an "ally", and he maintains the image of a leader close to public sentiment. This strategy allows him to win without taking any risks. His flirtation provides support among disgruntled groups, but his absence protects him from accusations that he is using the protests for personal popularity.
However, another part of the protesters does not forget that Radev is always inclined to take the Kremlin's side on Ukraine - and not only distanced himself from Bulgaria's inclusion in the eurozone, but also tried to thwart it with the (unsuccessful) referendum attempt.
With Borisov, but against Peevski?
The leader of the DPS “New Beginning“ Delyan Peevski directly blamed President Radev for the chaos of the protest on December 1. “The real organizer of the pogroms, arson and chaos“, Peevski said on Facebook, pointing out that the agitation was led by the president's advisors and his “close oligarchs“.
Unlike him, Boyko Borisov avoids confrontation with Radev. But it is not only Borisov who has adopted this tactic, the other political forces are also acting in this way. The topic of the unprofitable contract with “Botas”, the work of the president's official cabinet, has already been removed from the GERB agenda. And the party leader, so eloquent on domestic and foreign policy, ignored the president's address, which spoke of a disgraced government and early elections. He clearly does not recognize himself in the address "Mr. Oligarchs".
At the moment, there is no publicly known information about contacts between Radev and Borisov, but various public speakers speculate that after early elections, Borisov and Radev may govern together. Of course, assuming that the president's party project emerges. Why not? The similarities between the two outweigh the differences. Both Borisov and Radev demonstrate strong populist rhetoric and autocratic traits, concentrating power around themselves; both maintain good contacts with Viktor Orban and the Hungarian model of "strong personal power" and personalized leadership. And their foreign policy orientation is an attempt to balance between Moscow and Washington.
With a maneuver towards Radev, Boyko Borisov would get rid of his heaviest burden - Peevski. By gaining another strong ally, his party leadership will be seamless and focused on his political strategy, without having to manage complex coalition dependencies.
A politician in shiny military armor
Through some journalists and analysts, society is being bombarded with messages that once again return to Radev the military armor worn out by his two presidential terms. Not just a military one, but a general. You see, he didn't want to get involved in politics, but he can't leave the state in the hands of current politicians, because military honor doesn't allow him to. It's enough to recall what power the president tried to concentrate through personnel changes in the services and state-owned companies of his governments to refute this thesis.
Formally, Radev remains close to the protesters, but he is not one of them. Borisov waits, while Peevski applies pressure and organizes counter-protests. None of them can be an alternative for a healthy state and a modern vision for the country, after Bulgaria has fulfilled its last strategic goal - the adoption of the euro.