In recent days and hours, the artificially inflated political tension in our country has reached new heights. Opposition circles are pouring serious emotional resources into an attempt to suggest that the government has committed a significant foreign policy blunder.
The main target of the attacks is the Minister of Foreign Affairs Velislava Petrova-Chamova and her participation in the summit in Ukraine.
Paris marked the beginning of the balanced position
Even during his visit to Paris, the French capital became a platform for the clear Bulgarian position. There, Prime Minister Rumen Radev held key talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. Radev categorically announced to the media that our country would not become part of the so-called. „Coalition of the Willing“ to send military contingents, resisting diplomatic pressure. It was this Paris visit that outlined Sofia's red lines — full support for Ukraine's humanitarian and energy needs, but without direct military involvement.
Is there a signature under the Kiev Declaration?
Critics were quick to link the Paris events to the meeting in Ukraine, accusing the foreign minister of signing the so-called Kiev Declaration. However, the truth turned out to be completely different and was officially confirmed in statements by both Velislava Petrova herself and Prime Minister Rumen Radev.
“Nobody signed anything in Kiev“, Petrova was categorical. She explained that this type of consensus documents are adopted within informal international formats without physical signatures. The position was also defended by Vice President Iliana Yotova, who recalled that there is no practice of voting or signing in such acts. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the document is not legally binding and does not involve our country in new military commitments.
The Political Trap: PP-DB and GERB in a Common Chorus Against the Service Cabinet
The topic of the “Coalition of the Willing“ served as another internal political rearrangement. According to a traditional scenario, it slipped the PP-DB formation back into the orbit of Boyko Borisov, who willingly joined the sharp tone of the yellow-paved capital's right. It has become a historical trend for the GERB leader to use every opportunity for such tactical rapprochement, in which the electoral negatives of the common position are usually borne by the city right.
The real change on the political scene became possible only with the appearance of Rumen Radev. This not only took away the pleasure of the city right from the long-awaited victory over Borisov, but also deeply hurt it on an ideological level - much more than any other opponent could have done. Today, their anger against Radev seems more like a belated emotional reaction than a reasoned criticism.
A similar political theater is being played out on the economic front. We observe exactly the same coordinated situation in the general criticisms of PP-DB and GERB against the draft budget proposed by Galab Donev's cabinet. The political forces that are directly responsible for the existing “dirty” state of the state treasury, today in a synchronous chorus are “shaken” by the financial plans of the caretaker cabinet (reference: investor.bg/a/517-byudzhet-и-финанси/373921-parlamentat-glasuva-priziva-kam-sluzhebniya-kabinet-za-nov-byudzhet). This coalition of denial conveniently transfers its own managerial liabilities onto the government appointed by Radev.
The public Fatigue in Europe: The Data Critics Ignore
The majority of Bulgarian voters who voted for Radev and the current government remain fully in agreement with the formula for distancing themselves from direct membership in escalating military formats. Our country continues to assist diplomatically and in the field of energy security, without crossing the line of its national interest.
Against this backdrop, none of the loudly scandalized commentators in our country are asking themselves the question: What is the opinion of citizens in the countries of the “Coalition of the Willing“? Current sociological surveys in Europe and the USA show a deep chasm between the political elites at the top and the real attitudes of societies that no one asks:
- Poland (Key Logistics Center): Although Warsaw agreed to host the coalition's autumn exercises, sentiment is collapsing dramatically. A new survey by CBOS has registered for the first time that 52% of Poles now oppose accepting refugees. At the same time, support for military aid has fallen to a critical 52.2% compared to 77.5% at the beginning of the conflict. More than half of Polish citizens (nearly 60%) categorically reject Ukraine's possible future membership in the EU.
- United Kingdom (Co-founder of the format): While London is among the main drivers of the "Coalition of the Willing", the studies of BMG Research and Ipsosreported a severe drop in public support. Nearly a third of Britons no longer agree with the scale of support, and the public is deeply divided on the issue of sending troops to maintain a future peace.
- Germany: DeutschlandTrend shows that over 60% of German citizens strongly oppose Berlin's direct involvement in military coalitions and the deployment of offensive long-range systems.
- France and the USA: Recent surveys by IFOP showed that the vast majority of French people reject any form of direct military participation by French soldiers. Overseas, data from the Pew Research Center confirms that nearly half of American voters believe the United States is already contributing too much to the conflict.
Against the backdrop of these large-scale internal debates, economic speculations and fatigue within the core coalition countries themselves, Bulgaria's distancing appears to be a completely legitimate manifestation of reasonable sovereignism, fully in line with the will of the majority of Bulgarians.