A gas pipeline connecting Greece with Bulgaria and facilitating the distribution of gas from Azerbaijan in Eastern European countries was inaugurated yesterday with a ceremony in Sofia, in the presence of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Azerbaijani President , Ilham Aliev, among other heads of state and government. Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania and Serbia will benefit from a new interconnector with the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline (Tap).
The event could not be more opportune for the pro-European political forces in Bulgaria: new legislative elections are being held today and the gas issue, understood as a position towards the West or towards Russia, has been central during the electoral campaign.
After the government coalition led by the pro-European reformist party We Continue with Change broke up in June, the pro-Europeans feared that the Socialists, until then government partners, would promote retaking the agreements with the Russian supplier Gazprom –broken by Sofia refusing to pay in rubles by gas–, according to the interim government promoted by President Rumen Radev, which provoked citizen protests in August. A supply of North American liquefied gas was also stopped. The government of Kiril Petkov (We continue with the Change) had also expelled 70 Russian diplomats, which also left open the debate on the war in Ukraine in a Slavic country member of the EU and NATO but previously very dependent on Russia.
For Bulgaria, gas from the Caspian accounts for a third of its needs, but supply is expected to be expanded. The interconnector with Greece “means freedom; freedom from dependence on Russian gas,” stressed Von der Leyen.
The unknown of today's legislative elections is whether the step taken yesterday can limit the rise of the pro-Russian current represented not only by the socialists, in favor of an understanding with Moscow, but by the ultra-nationalist Renaissance formation, which is predicted to have an 11 % of the vote in today's elections.
For the rest, an immediate solution to the provisional situation that was generated last June is not expected, when the other member of the coalition slammed the door along with the socialists, the party There is Such a People, a populist product led by the showman Slavi Trifonov. We continue with the Change and its leader, Kiril Petkov, has lost popular acceptance, and the polls give him around 19%. The beneficiary, and apparent favorite, is none other than Boyko Borísov, with a 25% intention to vote for his party, the GERB. It must be remembered that Borísov was prime minister three times and is a particularly controversial figure; last March he was arrested for corruption.
Bulgarians return to the polls with little enthusiasm, according to polls, which point to a very low turnout. These are his fourth elections in less than two years –between legislative and presidential elections–, which represents a considerable expense. If 55% abstention is expected, instead there are more than 6,700 candidates for deputy – one for every thousand potential voters – grouped into 23 parties.
