Vladimir Mitev: Peevski has become too powerful. Following the protests, he will now be weakened

Gabriela Mihai, B1, 12 December 2025

Summary

The text is an interview with Bulgarian journalist Vladimir Mitev, founder of the blog The Bridge of Friendship, conducted by Gabriela Mihai of B1 Television on December 12, 2025. The interview discusses the political crisis in Bulgaria following the resignation of Rosen Zhelyazkov’s government on December 11, 2025, amidst large-scale anti-corruption and anti-oligarchy protests.

Key points from the interview:

• Immediate Political Future: A constitutional procedure will follow, with the President granting up to three mandates to form a new government. The most plausible scenario is early elections and the formation of an interim government, as street pressure continues. This interim government’s prime minister is likely to be someone close to the highly criticized politician Delyan Peevski.
• Reasons for Discontent: Protests are driven by dissatisfaction with the perceived arrogance of the political elite and the nature of Bulgaria’s oligarchic system, which involves a balance of power between various factions (Peevski, Radev, Borissov, and anti-corruption parties).
• The Peevski Factor: The recent strengthening of Delyan Peevski’s position, who is linked to the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), is identified as a major catalyst for the widespread discontent. His perceived control over the prosecutor’s office and his initiative to investigate the Soros Foundation were “wake-up calls” for other political groups and liberal elites.
• Consequences of Protests: The massive public support (over 70% in some polls) for the protests is expected to put Peevski on the defensive and empower other political factions. However, these other groups have very different and opposing interests, ranging from supporting eurozone adoption to nationalist skepticism and geopolitical differences.
• Long-term Outlook: The journalist forecasts a period of “relative uncertainty and confusion” until a new formula emerges where some factions collaborate in government and others form the opposition.

Intro

The Bridge of Friendship: On 11 December 2025, Rosen Zhelyazkov’s government resigned ahead of a no-confidence vote scheduled in the National Assembly, initiated by the opposition coalition ‘We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria’ (PP-DB). This decision was made amid widespread anti-government protests, which culminated in a demonstration in the capital on 10 December 2025. Over 150,000 citizens gathered in Sofia under the slogan “Resign! Peevski and Borisov must leave power’.

When announcing his resignation, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said that he was listening to the voice of the people and their demands. He emphasised that power comes from the people and that this civic energy must be supported.

The following day, 12 December 2025, the Romanian television station B1 conducted a brief interview with Vladimir Mitev, the founder of the Bulgarian-Romanian blog The Bridge of Friendship, asking him about the future of Bulgarian politics and the reasons for discontent in Bulgaria.

Video with autogenerated subtitles in English

Interview

Gabriela Mihai, B1: We’re back with the major political crisis in Bulgaria, where the government resigned yesterday after several weeks of street protests against corruption and economic policies. Joining us live from Ruse in Bulgaria is Bulgarian journalist Vladimir Mitev, founder of the Bridge of Friendship blog. Hello, thank you for joining us.

Vladimir Mitev: Hello!

What’s next in Bulgarian politics after the resignation of the Zhelyazkov cabinet?

Gabriela Mihai (B1): What will the consequences be now? What happens now that the government has resigned?

Vladimir Mitev: A constitutional procedure will now follow. The President of Bulgaria will attempt to establish a new parliamentary majority. He has the right to grant up to three mandates for the formation of a government.

If a new government coalition is not formed, then we will go to early elections and an interim government will be formed. This is probably the most plausible scenario. Many people are no longer waiting for a regular government to be formed. There is also pressure from the streets.

For example, the interim government must be appointed by a prime minister who can only be one of a select group of a dozen people. Most of these individuals are considered to be close to Delyan Peevski, the politician against whom the protests were directed.

We are probably going to see more of this pressure from the streets. Even if the government falls now, the discontent will continue. Some scenarios forecast a period of relative uncertainty and confusion, with no clear majority or prevailing force in Bulgarian politics.

The reasons for the Bulgarians’ discontent

Gabriela Mihai, B1: Why have we seen so many protests, some of them violent? What are the citizens’ grievances?

Vladimir Mitev: Firstly, many people are rebelling against the perceived arrogance of the political elite. Of course, there were initially protests against the budget, but it seems to me that this dissatisfaction was not well-founded. What seems more important to me is that Bulgaria is an oligarchic system, with several groups or factions represented by various individuals.

This is why, when analysing Bulgaria, there is always talk of the tendencies of Peevski, Radev, Borissov and so on, or of the anti-corruption parties. What is important is that these factions are usually in a state of balance, meaning that each has its own powers and none can destroy the others.

At the same time, periodically, one of these factions starts to gain strength, and geopolitics probably plays a role in this. What we have noticed in the last year or so is that this political and business leader, Delyan Peevski, who is linked to the DPS party, or the Movement for Rights and Freedoms – A New Beginning, has begun to strengthen his position. He was considered to be somewhat close to the prosecutor’s office, which persecuted or attacked his opponents. Moreover, he set up a parliamentary group to study the activities of Soros’s Foundation in Bulgaria, which was, of course, a wake-up call for many of Bulgaria’s liberal elites.

This happened just a month ago. So probably many factors, including the fact that he has strengthened his position, have led to the situation where the other groups, despite their differences and opposing tendencies and interests, have united to bring Peevski down. If we have such widespread discontent on the streets and, according to some polls, over 70% of Bulgarians support the protests, Peevski will probably be on the defensive and the other groups will become more prominent. However, as I said, they have very different interests.

For example, some support joining the eurozone, while more nationalist and sovereignist tendencies are sceptical about it. There are also geopolitical differences. This is why I think it is likely that we will have a period in which it is unclear which direction we will take until a formula emerges in which some factions collaborate in the government and others go into opposition.

Gabriela Mihai (B1): Thank you very much for this intervention, which is directly relevant to us. I spoke with Bulgarian journalist Vladimir Mitev, founder of the Bridge of Friendship blog.

Photo: Vladimir Mitev (source: YouTube)

Subscribe to the channel of the blog “The Bridge of Friendship” in YouTube, where a number of video and audio interviews are published! The blog can also be followed in Facebook and Twitter. Its Telegram channel is here. And here is its Substack account.

About Author