Week in Review: Spies, Cyber Attacks and Endless Elections

Sinking Deeper

Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev arrives for a face-to-face EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, 25 May 2021. European Union leaders take part in a two day in-person meeting to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and Russia relations. EPA-EFE/JOHANNA GERON / POOL

After a brief lull in its two-year political and government crisis, Bulgaria is once again without a functioning government. For the fourth time in two years, the country is also heading towards Parliamentary elections.

Yet again, there is little guarantee that the elections will bring a much needed stable government. Meanwhile, as our analysis notes, the string of political crises, collapsing governments and elections may be playing into the hands of one man - President Rumen Radev.

Read more: Bulgaria's Rapid-Fire Political Crises Suit One Man - President Radev (September 1, 2022)

Flexibility

North Macedonia's former PM and former VMRO DPMNE party leader, Ljubco Georgievski. Photo by Robert Atanasovski

While Bulgaria goes through yet another cycle of political crisis and elections, tensions in North Macedonia over its identity-centred dispute with Sofia continue to bubble away. In our interview this week, we talk to Ljubco Georgievski, a former PM and founder of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE.

Once a fiery opponent of changing North Macedonia's flag under Greek pressure, Georgievski now strikes a more moderate tone. In this intriguing interview, he argues for more flexibility on the Macedonian side in dealing with the Bulgarian dispute.

Read more: Ljubco Georgievski: North Macedonia Shouldn't Fear Revisiting Problematic History (August 29, 2022)

Spies or Explorers?

Svetlana Timofeeva,...

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