Election of so-called 'Putin agent' is no surprise to ordinary Bulgarians

On April 19, parliamentary elections took place in Bulgaria for the eighth time in five years. It was the latest iteration of a pattern that has crept inwards from the European Union’s eastern periphery, from Georgia in 2024 to Romania in 2025, to Slovenia and Hungary this year: foreign governments pick a favorite that suits their geopolitical objectives and/or culture war preferences. They then try to put the finger on the scale of the political contest, at the very least with alarmist rhetoric...