“European” And “Extreme” Populists In The Same Row – The New Government Of The Republic Of Bulgaria
“European” And “Extreme” Populists In The Same Row – The New Government Of The Republic Of Bulgaria

Summary/Abstract: The current (minority) government consists of the representatives of the political parties Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) led by the former Mayor of Sofia, Boyko Borisov. What makes this right-centre government especially interesting is that it is supported in the Parliament by the extremist party of a symbolic name - Ataka. This party, since its appearance in 2005, has done everything to present itself as an uncompromising opponent to all major tendencies in the European and Euro-Atlantic area. Moreover, its sole creation has led to the quakes on the European political level, since it enabled the creation of the extremist group in the European parliament (EP), along with the parties of the similar provenience from other Member States. In the following text the author will try to explain how this paradox came about, that an extremist party, officially very sceptical of the European Union (EU), openly supported a centre-right party which bases its own identity on this supranational creation. For that purpose, we will explain the phenomenon of the rise of populism in Bulgaria in the last decade, which is a key factor for understanding the ways of cooperation and closeness of GERB and Ataka. We will also examine their programmatic and ideological differences and similarities, as well as the basic motives for their cooperation. Finally, we will try to answer the question that logically follows: what is the reason for this seemingly unnatural coalition and what is its scope.

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