EU’s Unity Over Russia at Risk From Political Limbo in Bulgaria
- President-appointed government accused of slipping ‘backward’
- President Radev fills political void as fragmentation mounts
Rumen Radev
Photographer: Michal Cizek/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
A political deadlock has thrust Bulgaria’s president into a role of uncommon power, posing risks to Western efforts to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine.
After a fourth election in 18 months failed to produce a clear ruling majority, chances are slim that a new government will emerge soon. That has given President Rumen Radev, a former general who flew MiG jet fighters, in charge, with more power than his mostly ceremonial position usually commands in the NATO and European Union state.