In the midst of a perfect storm of inflation, energy crisis and war in the neighborhood, the Bulgarian coalition government collapsed in June.

The occasion was a dispute about whether the neighboring Slavic Macedonians have Bulgarian roots or not and what political consequences should be drawn from the answer.

The populist party "There is such a people" led by a pop singer and TV star left the cabinet on the grounds that Prime Minister Kirill Petkov was too soft in the dispute with North Macedonia and was conducting politics behind the back of the coalition.

The head of government did not survive a subsequent vote of no confidence.

Michael Martens

Correspondent for Southeast European countries based in Vienna.

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Bulgaria is now electing a new parliament today – for the fourth time in 18 months.

It started with a regular parliamentary election in April last year.

Since the parties were then unable to agree on a coalition, another election was held in July 2021.

After again no majority capable of governing was found, the population had to vote for a third time in November.

Petkov expelled 70 Russian diplomats

As a result of the third election, the victorious Petkov managed to form a coalition of four factions at the head of his liberal reform party “We continue the change” (the name sounds more catchy in Bulgarian and consists of just two words).

However, in order to get the necessary majority in Parliament, he had to consult the talk show host's party.

That took revenge after barely half a year.

According to a frequently heard interpretation, the fourth parliamentary elections that have now become necessary in less than two years will also be about the question of whether Bulgaria is moving away from the West and closer to Putin.

The party that is actually standing for election, even if its name is not found in the election documents, is Gazprom, according to this account.

This is an exaggeration, as there is no majority in Bulgaria in favor of turning its back on the European Union, of which the country has been a member since 2007, or on NATO, of which it has been a member since 2004.

However, in the Balkan state with its close historical, religious and linguistic ties to Russia, it is quite controversial how clearly the country should differentiate itself from Moscow.

Most relevant parties have unequivocally condemned Russia's incursion into Ukraine.

But not everyone wants to draw further conclusions from this and draw the dividing line to the Russian regime as clearly as Petkov.

As Prime Minister, he made it unmistakably clear in a guest article for the FAZ where he wanted to position his country.

After Gazprom Bulgaria, along with Poland, became the first European country to completely refuse gas supplies in April, Petkov called on the EU to unite under the slogan "Together against Russia".

It is important to show Putin "that it is futile to mess with smaller countries, because we will ward off his attempts at destabilization together."

One reason for the Russian punitive action against Bulgaria is that Bulgarian armaments factories are among the most important suppliers of ammunition to the Ukrainian army.

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spent a full three days in April for talks in Sofia to coordinate further deliveries.

He could expect full support from Petkow.

In one of his last official acts in June, the outgoing prime minister had 70 members of the Russian diplomatic corps in Bulgaria expelled from the country in one fell swoop – more at one fell swoop than any other country in the world.