Progressive Bulgaria
Political party in Bulgaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Progressive Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Прогресивна България, romanized: Progresivna Balgariya, PB) is a left-wing populist[1] and nationalist[3] political party and coalition in Bulgaria led by former President Rumen Radev, who founded it to contest the 2026 Bulgarian parliamentary election. The coalition, presented on 2 March 2026, is composed of three major Bulgarian political parties as members, plus three smaller parties.[14] On 17 April, Progressive Bulgaria was declared a party at its founding congress in Veliko Tarnovo.[15][16] In the 2026 election, the coalition won a majority of seats in the National Assembly.
Dimitar Stoyanov
Elena Noneva
Todor Barbolov
Atanas Kalchev
Progressive Bulgaria Прогресивна България | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | PB |
| Leader | Rumen Radev |
| Co-chairs | Galab Donev Dimitar Stoyanov Elena Noneva Todor Barbolov Atanas Kalchev |
| Founder | Rumen Radev |
| Founded | 2 March 2026 (coalition) 17 April 2026 (party) |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-left[11] to left-wing[12] |
| Member parties | PDS SDP DNN External support: VMRO-BND |
| Colors | Dark green[13] White |
| National Assembly | 131 / 240 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 17 |
| Website | |
| progresivnabulgaria.com | |
History
Formation
On 2 March 2026, documents for a coalition called "Progressive Bulgaria" were submitted to the Central Electoral Commission of Bulgaria. The coalition, which was led by Former President Rumen Radev, included the following parties: the Political Movement "Social Democrats", led by Elena Noneva; the Social Democratic Party, led by Todor Barbolov; and the Our People Movement, led by Atanas Kalchev. Radev himself did not submit the documents; this was done by former Interim Prime Minister Galab Donev and former Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov.[17][18][19] It was announced that Radev would not be part of the Progressive Bulgaria leadership; instead, Donev and Stoyanov would become co-chairs, as well as the leaders of the three mandate-carrier parties.[14]
On 11 March, it was revealed that candidates from VMRO – Bulgarian National Movement would enter the lists of PB. According to party leader Krasimir Karakachanov, there is no formal agreement on the participation of VMRO candidates in the lists of "Progressive Bulgaria", but it was not ruled out that individual representatives would be included in them.[20][21] The party had earlier announced its support for the coalition in a decision by the party's organizational council.[22]
Ideology
Progressive Bulgaria has been described as left-wing populist,[1] left-wing nationalist,[3] left-conservative,[23] and socially conservative.[6] Bulgarian political scientist Antoaneta Hristova stated that the coalition demonstrates a centre-left and social democratic political profile.[5] It combines left-wing economic policies, such as increasing pensions and expand state-owned healthcare with social conservatism and sovereigntism.[7] The party's ideology has been described as putting Bulgarian national interests first; it does not question Bulgaria's membership in the European Union and NATO,[24] but plans to take a "more assertive" stance on energy, climate, and budget policies.[10]
Publicist Yavor Siderov described Radev as a populist.[27] In a Facebook post, Radev deemed his coalition "a response to Bulgarians' expectations for the dismantling of the oligarchic corruption model".[14] As president, Radev has questioned Bulgaria's 2026 adoption of the euro and opposed sanctions against the Russian Federation.[28] He, as well as the coalition itself, have been described as softly anti-Atlanticist or lenient towards Russia and sceptical of Ukraine in the context of the Russo-Ukrainian war. This assessment has been disputed, with Radev stating during his 2026 campaign that he would not veto EU aid to Kyiv if elected;[32] however, he has repeatedly spoken against supplying weapons to Ukraine and criticised security agreements with the country.[33]
Polish political scientist Jan Nowinowski described the party as similar to the Slovak party Direction – Social Democracy, led by Prime Minister Robert Fico; according to Nowinowski, Progressive Bulgaria offers pro-social and interventionist economic postulates and has conservative views in other spheres. He described the party as "nationalist, and at times sovereigntist", "verging on populism", and campaigning on anti-corruption, judicial reform, and fatigue with the political elite.[6] OKO.press argues that the alliance is "not strictly speaking a left-wing party in the European sense", but rather a form of a "populist-nationalist left".[1] The Centre for Eastern Studies described the party as centre-left conservative,[8] and with a "centre-left but socially conservative profile".[10] The Polish-language edition of Newsweek characterised the party in similar terms:
Nominally, Progressive Bulgaria is a centre-left party. But this left-wing stance is expressed mainly through socioeconomic promises; ideologically, the party is traditionalist. Central to its message are pledges to fight corruption; its slogans are otherwise very general, couched in populist language. To compare it to anything, it would be SMER — the party of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, which was long part of the Socialist International but was recently expelled from it. Like SMER, Progressive Bulgaria represents the interests of the poorest, whilst also promoting nationalist slogans.[34]
Composition
Member parties
| Party | Abbr. | Ideology | Leader | Member since | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Bulgaria (party) | PB | Left-wing populism | Rumen Radev | 17 April 2026 | |
| Political Movement "Social Democrats" | PDS | Social democracy | Elena Noneva | 2 March 2026 | |
| Social Democratic Party | SDP | Social democracy | Todor Barbolov | 2 March 2026 | |
| Our People Movement | DNN | Conservatism | Atanas Kalchev | 2 March 2026 | |
Supporting parties
| Party | Abbr. | Ideology | Leader | Supporting since | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VMRO – Bulgarian National Movement[20][21] | VMRO-BND | National conservatism | Krasimir Karakachanov | 11 March 2026 | |
Election results
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Place | Seats | +/– | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Rumen Radev | 1,444,920 | 44.59 | 1st | 131 / 240 |
New | Majority |
See also
- 2025–2026 Bulgarian protests, for events that preceded the formation of the party
- Alternative for Bulgarian Revival
- List of political parties in Bulgaria