Borisov entered a familiar image - of the last systemic player in Bulgaria, whom world leaders know by first name. The choice of host was also not accidental. What the GERB leader said on Yavor Dachkov's channel:
At the dawn of the new year 2026, GERB leader Boyko Borisov practically “opened” the election campaign with an almost 2-hour interview, in which he explained why power should be his again, and he should return to the prime minister's post - by default. The rare media appearance comes three weeks after the resignation of the cabinet, which ruled with the mandate of GERB-SDF, and fell after thousands of protests against the corruption and backroom deals that have taken over the country.
The conversation, recorded at GERB headquarters, was broadcast late at night on the YouTube channel of journalist Yavor Dachkov, known for his pro-Russian positions - both on the war in Ukraine and on the EU and the eurozone. In the interview, along with Borisov's usual self-promotion about highways, the metro, the eurozone and Schengen, time is also devoted to geopolitics.
There is no corruption, there is "arrogance"
After the protests against the removal of journalist Maria Tsantsarova from bTV, a guest appearance on television is not a good option, and Dachkov's choice is hardly accidental. In the interview, the GERB leader several times criticizes the Bulgarian media, which instill in people - especially in the morning blocks - how bad life is in Bulgaria.
Despite several critical questions about corruption and the “arrangement” of the judicial system by Borisov and the oligarch and leader of the MRF-New Beginning Delyan Peevski, the interview does not contradict. The questions are asked in a framework that allows Borisov to speak at length and explanatoryly about his irreplaceability, without real pressure and subsequent counterpoint. The GERB leader enters into an image familiar to voters - of the last systemic player in Bulgaria, whom world leaders know by first name, (although recently overshadowed by Peevski's dominance).
Borisov denies the protests as the reason for the fall of the government, shifting the blame onto his partners and the “arrogance” them, instead of taking political responsibility. For him, the arrest of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev was a signal for the end of the government. Kotsev was arrested in July 2025 and held in custody on charges of corruption crimes, but was released on bail of 200,000 leva at the end of November.
But the GERB chairman washes his hands of it with “I have always said that after January 1 I will do a revision and reformat…!“ and “Everyone went too far with arrogance, sometimes overflowing into vulgarity…“ To these arguments is added a well-known justification - the authorities have failed to explain their successes.
But Boyko Borisov carefully avoids any criticism or even irony towards Peevski, who has been sanctioned for corruption by the US and the UK. “Self-confidence in a person is a very good quality, and arrogance is a bad one. And when everyone went too far, including Peevski, nothing kept GERB in this majority”. In this way, he tries to deceive himself that he was in control and places himself above his partners in government as a kind of arbitrator and the real prime minister, without being prime minister.
He explains Peevski's rise with the withdrawal of PP and DB from GERB. However, GERB refused to sign for a “sanitary cordon” around Peevski, and thus the creation of a government with PP-DB in the 51st parliament failed.
Borisov's explanation for corruption is that it exists everywhere in the world, and the reason for talking about it in Bulgaria comes from “yellow media”. He uses as an argument an article by the authoritative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), (which explained the locker with the bundles in 2020 - b.a.), that: “Economically, the country is in a better state than its reputation abroad often suggests”. But Borisov limited himself only to its entree, omitting the part about the protests and “the dubious oligarch and media magnate Delyan Peevski”.
He rejects the presenter's claim that he has been governing together with Peevski since 2013, and explains their current partnership with the need “to keep the state running”, membership in the eurozone and Schengen. “Peevski always wanted me to be prime minister. Because he loves order, and whenever I am prime minister, there is order”, states the GERB leader, who was a three-time prime minister (with a short break) from 2009 to 2021.
Orthodoxy, traditional family, Trumpism
The interview is programmatic and for another reason - Borisov unequivocally shows that with his positions as a nationalist and conservative, he stands closer to Orbán-Trump than to European values. Orthodoxy, traditional family, no liberal values in school – these are the three pillars of Gerber morality.
Since his statement in 2010 that “in GERB men love women and women love men”, Borisov has not spoken on the topic of LGBT+ rights. Now he calls them “dissidents” and “genders” - the latter term is a Bulgarian propaganda creation against the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. The Bulgarian parliament last year banned the propaganda and popularization of “non-traditional sexual orientation“ and “identification of gender identity other than biological” in schools.
”A man is a man, a woman is a woman, what Trump did… I won't teach my grandchildren that," says Borisov, explaining that "when the boys were born, I threw my hat, that's the tradition, and we got drunk." He also talks about his good relations with the patriarch, expressing once again his support for studying religion in school.
However, Borisov's positions are not the values of the EPP - the European political family, of which GERB has been a member for almost two decades, and which relies on moderate conservatism and the rule of law.
Is President Rumen Radev the new man for Orban and the US in Bulgaria? The question is because of the visit of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in November last year and his only meeting - with Radev. But Viktor (Orban), with whom they had been friends for 30 years, called him then. Borisov does not reveal details of the conversation, except that “Victor is a very smart person. He is betting on the other card (that the EU will collapse, b.a.), I claim that it is the best”.
The GERB leader fought to keep Orbán's party from leaving the EPP, “but the others prevailed”. Due to a retreat from democratic values, the EPP froze FIDES's membership in 2019, and two years later Orbán's formation left the center-right alliance.
The Ukrainian flag and the EU
However, Borisov also surprised with his clearest pro-Ukrainian position to date, twice pointing to the Ukrainian flag at GERB headquarters. “I am a staunch supporter of Ukraine, my innate sense of justice cannot accept that just because I am stronger, or you are smarter, I can stand up and beat you up. That was the sleazy behavior of the 1990s”.
Support for Ukraine does not exclude, on the contrary, it comes along with demonstrative loyalty to US President Donald Trump, as “we support President Trump's policy of peace”.
It seems that Borisov refuses to choose a side between the EU, to which Bulgaria belongs, and Washington. “We are dependent on the European Commission (because of European funds, b.a.), and with the US we are partners (energy and military cooperation, b.a.) and I manage to get Bulgaria through this thin ice to be on good terms with both great powers, and with the others we have pragmatic relations that protect us”.
On the topic of the midterm elections in the US, the pragmatism of the GERB leader is indicative: “I have bet on both black and red, because everyone knows that I am loyal and I do not betray my friends“. This is not a joke, but the philosophy of a casino player - I am neither with the Democrats nor the Republicans, I am the person with whom everyone can work. This is the philosophy of the universal partner, loyal to everyone who holds power.
What comes out? Boyko Borisov understands Putin, but does not accept the war. He supports Ukraine, but likes Trump. He is in the EPP, but he talks like Orban. He is above everyone else, because only he can walk on thin ice. Also build highways, stop illegal migrants, increase GDP four times in 20 years, bring Bulgaria into the eurozone and Schengen, arrange for “Maritsa-Iztok” to work. He does not draw red lines for political partnerships, he is not afraid of Rumen Radev.
By shaking off the emotions of the protests, Bulgarians will see what GERB has done and will assess the risks - this is what Borisov believes. The risks have been assessed. They do not want a state with a capital “G” and its shareholders.
* This comment expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and the DW as a whole.