Political Elites Made Bulgarians Side With Trump and Be Wary of Atlantic Values

Joe Biden's election as President of the United States has sparked positive reactions across Europe, where both citizens and politicians seem equally relieved by the "changing of the guards" in the White House. A recent survey by the European Council on Foreign Policy (ECFP) found that 53% of citizens of 11 European countries think Biden will bring positive change to their countries, while 54% say Trump has destabilized the world.

The difference with Bulgarian public opinion is significant: according to Alpha Research data from November 2020, only 27% of Bulgarians believe that the situation in the world has deteriorated under Trump.

And while neither Bulgarians nor other Europeans vote in the US elections, the change in Washington will also affect them. Biden intends to restrain China and Russia, rebuild the West as an alliance of democracies and stabilize NATO.

"This means maintaining NATO's military strength on a par while expanding our ability to respond to new, non-traditional threats like corruption used for subversive purposes," Biden said in his first foreign policy speech as a candidate in 2019.

For corrupt leaders and autocrats, this is a clear warning:  this means the end of the "you-scratch-my-back-and-I-scratch- yours" policy which ensured peace of mind in exchange for a large military orders.

"There is a lack of political determination to fight corruption in Bulgaria, and corruption is dangerous for national security because it makes countries more vulnerable to external influence," a representative of the US Embassy in Sofia said last week. This is direct criticism and a clear message to those in power.

Like other Europeans, Bulgarians understand the need for Europe to have its own defence capabilities,...