RADEV MAY HAVE TO COMPROMISE

In his campaign, Radev drew comparisons with Hungary’s pro-Kremlin former Prime Minister Viktor Orban when he talked about improving relations with Moscow and resuming the free flow of Russian oil and gas into Europe. He also criticised the EU for relying too heavily on renewable energy.

It is not clear how much his views will impact the foreign policy of Bulgaria, a NATO member on the EU’s southeastern flank which joined the euro zone in January — a move Radev has criticised. 

He said he would be willing to work on judicial reform with the pro-European reformist We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) coalition, which came third in the Alpha Research exit polls with 11.3 per cent. A minority government was also an option in the 240-seat parliament, Radev said.

“Bulgaria will make efforts to continue its European path,” he said. “But a strong Bulgaria and strong Europe … needs pragmatism because Europe has fallen victim to its own ambition to be a moral leader in a world without rules.”

GERB’s Borissov appeared to concede in a post on Facebook, but added a note of caution: “To win the elections is one thing; to govern is quite another. Elections decide who comes first, but negotiations will decide who governs.”

Bulgaria has developed rapidly since the fall of communism in 1989 and joined the European Union in 2007. Life expectancy has risen sharply, unemployment is the lowest in the EU, and the economy has greater safeguards since joining the euro zone in January.

But it lags behind other EU countries in many metrics, and graft remains endemic, including in elections, where vote-buying is rife.

The cost of living has become a particular issue since Bulgaria adopted the euro. The previous government fell amid protests against a new budget proposing tax increases and higher social security contributions.