Bulgaria’s Ultra-Nationalist and Populist Parties Form Alliance to Run for July 11 Election Together

Ultra-nationalist parties VMRO and the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria, along with populist Volya, have agreed to stand together in Bulgaria's July 11 2021 parliamentary elections under the name "Bulgarian Patriots", the parties announced on May 20.

The leaders of the three parties - Krassimir Karakachanov, Valeri Simeonov and Vesselin Mareshki - will not stand as candidate MPs.

The decision for the leaders not to stand follows a proposal by Karakachanov, against a background of previous infighting that brought down earlier "patriotic" coalitions.

In Bulgaria's April 4 parliamentary elections, no ultra-nationalist formation surpassed the threshold of a four per cent share of votes to win seats in the National Assembly

VMRO came the closest, at 3.64 per cent. The Volya-National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria electoral coalition got 2.37 per cent.

The electoral coalition has 10 "basic principles".

These are national reconciliation and cessation of inter-institutional wars, increase of incomes and pensions, measures against monopolies and cartels, adoption of a Private Bankruptcy Act, overcoming the demographic catastrophe, preventing the Movement for Rights and Freedoms from governing Bulgaria, an independent and nationally responsible foreign policy, protection of the traditional family and prevention of same-sex marriages, cessation of social parasitism, introduction of educational qualifications in voting, decentralisation, zero tolerance for corruption, as well as a new social contract.

Meanwhile, at the initiative of Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Kornelia Ninova - whose party ran third on April 4 - negotiations are underway on forming a broad left-wing coalition.

Involved in these...

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