Asen Vassilev from WCC-DB said that Rumen Radev’s entry into active politics has removed any remaining ambiguity about the direction the country could take and has presented voters with a clear and direct choice about Bulgaria’s future. According to him, citizens must now decide whether they want a confident Bulgaria firmly anchored in a strong Europe, governed by shared rules and mutual trust, or a country attempting to balance between East and West, a path he described as self-degrading and historically linked to national disasters. The third option he outlined was a Bulgaria trapped in corruption.

Vassilev stressed that these are the three distinct trajectories ahead of the parliamentary elections and that the final outcome depends entirely on the decision of Bulgarian voters. He made the remarks in parliament, after the president’s resignation had been officially submitted to the Constitutional Court, telling reporters that the political landscape had now been fully clarified.

Through the media, the PP leader directly challenged Radev to declare which model he supports: a strong, European Bulgaria or a system similar to that of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, which in Vassilev’s view would slow or block deeper EU integration. He recalled the president’s past stance on machine voting and questioned why no referendum on adopting the euro had been proposed earlier. Vassilev also asked why Radev had not allowed changes in the leadership of the State Agency for National Security and National Defense, despite what he described as sabotage of machine voting during the Denkov government.

Vassilev went further, raising broader policy questions that he said required clear answers. He asked what kind of education system and healthcare model Radev envisions, whether he would support tax increases or defend the existing tax framework, and whether fairness should come before solidarity in shaping the state, or the other way around. He publicly called on the president to respond to all these issues.

According to Vassilev, Bulgarian voters now face an unmistakable alternative and no longer have any justification for abstaining from elections. He reiterated that the country can move decisively toward Europe, drift aimlessly while losing dignity, or fall back into corruption and entrenched poverty, outcomes he said Bulgarians know well from past experience.

He insisted that Radev must clearly articulate, both in words and actions, what kind of Bulgaria he wants to build. Vassilev also argued that dismantling what he described as the joint “GERB–DPS model” depends on both parties remaining below 80 seats in parliament.

He noted that since 2009, including during and after the Kiril Petkov cabinet, GERB and DPS have consistently held more than 80 deputies combined. In his view, reducing their representation below that threshold is the only way to enable the election of a functioning Supreme Judicial Council. He said this can happen only if voters choose not to support GERB or the DPS.

Vassilev added that there is no reason to revert the Constitution to its previous versions. On the question of who should serve as acting prime minister, he said this decision would fall to Vice President Iliana Yotova once the presidential resignation is formally accepted.