If the parliamentary parties had the legal or political opportunity, they would cancel these very presidential elections.
The vote, officially scheduled for October 25, 2026, is too much for absolutely everyone at the top of power – and it's very apparent to them. The upcoming campaign looks more like a tedious obligation than a real battle for "Dondukov" 2.
The strategy of passivity: Who played it the easiest?
The easiest, fastest and most tactically correct way to play the situation was played by Progressive Bulgaria (PB) and BSP with early support for the current head of state Iliyana Yotova.
- The people from the PB will not deal with unnecessary logistics and party exhaustion - they have enough commitments and puzzles on other fronts in the executive branch.
- The Socialists, for their part, will strongly remind us that Iliana is entirely their girl. The hope here is clear: this move will either give them a little electoral lifeblood, or it is a deep part of some longer and more complex strategy for survival in the left space, which even they have hardly clarified yet.
The trap ahead of the others: The risk of a second defeat
If the remaining formations nominate their own, purely party candidates, this will automatically write them second serious defeat after the vote on April 19. Moreover, the defeat in the fall threatens to be much heavier.
Kostadin Kostadinov or the public figure Petar Volgin have a theoretical chance to return to the ranks of „Vazrazhdane“ part of those disappointed with the so-called „Euro-Radev“ version of the prime minister. However, whether these votes will be enough for a real runoff against Yotova remains a very fateful and doubtful equation.
Borisov's universal preparation
If GERB decides not to promote anyone, it will immediately be understood in the political space that the party is becoming even more vulnerable. Such a pass would mean that Boyko Borisov is giving up "Radev's unlimited power" without a fight - something that is supposedly greatly feared by both GERB and the eternally divided urban right-wingers from PP-DB.
However, Borisov has already discovered his universal remedy with which to keep the party's sign clean from a new portion of pre-election mud. This is the demonstrative unwillingness of the Pepedebeys for any joint candidacy with GERB.
The reality is that such a joint candidacy simply will not exist. And even if there were - so what?
- If the common candidate is a coat of arms fan: The die-hard fans of Asen Vassilev and Ivaylo Mirchev will definitely not come out to vote.
- If the candidate is a pepedebeichik: GERB voters may be reluctant to support him in the second round, but exactly such a configuration will immediately mobilize those passive fans of Iliyana Yotova, who under other circumstances would not have run to the dark rooms at all.
Anime associations and short memory
Against this background, the expected tandem between Andrei Gyurov and Georgi Kandev, whose official presentation is said to be for September, have already acquired pure anime associations in the style of “Beavs and Butthead“.
Time is definitely not working in their favor. The “heroic“ image of the sheriff, who ostentatiously tied three chains of local authorities just before the parliamentary vote, remains further and further behind in mass memories. And in today's brutal flow of information, human memories are inexorably and irreversibly short-lived.
In the end - we will have to endure this autumn political boredom. It was meant to be.