In my latest article for New Eastern Europe, I shine a light on the Faustian bargain between reformist parties (PPDB) and parties of the establishment (GERB; DPS) in Bulgaria, which led to the election of Nikolay Denkov’s government in 2023. While, from an outside perspective, the governing coalition established stability after a long election spiral, it symbolizes the betrayal of the 2020 anti-corruption protests to many at home. The anti-corruption efforts and the measures supposed to strengthen the rule of law, which PPDB promised, are a distant memory. Not only did the recent coalition governing Bulgaria whitewash figures suspected of being implicated in grand corruption, such as Boyko Borissov and Delyan Peevski, but also it engaged in pseudo-reforms, including a constitutional reform, whose true purpose is to solidify Borissov and Peevski’s influence in the justice system. It does not help that the ministers look like mere puppets in the hands of the shameful political union.

Against the background of high-profile murders of figures with links to organized crime, who are also suspected of synergies with politicians, Denkov’s government and its future successor lose even more credibility. One wonders who governs Bulgaria, where decisions are taken, and to what extent organized crime plays a role in the political landscape.

You can read my article “Bulgaria’s Faustian bargain and the betrayal of the 2020 anti-corruption protests” here.