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GERB

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Gerb (disambiguation).

Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria
Граждани за европейско развитие на България
AbbreviationGERB[1]
ChairmanBoyko Borisov[1]
Deputy Chairmen[2]Tomislav Donchev
Daniel Mitov
Founded3 December 2006 (2006-12-03)
Split fromNational Movement Simeon II
HeadquartersSofia
Membership (2018)94,000[3]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right[15]
National affiliationGERB–SDS
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party Group
International affiliation
Colours  Blue
National Assembly
68 / 240
European Parliament
4 / 17
Municipalities
99 / 265
Party flag
Website
gerb.bg

GERB, an acronym for Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria[1] (Bulgarian: Граждани за европейско развитие на България, romanized: Grazhdani za evropeysko razvitie na Bŭlgaria), is a conservative center-right populist[6][7] political party which was the ruling party of Bulgaria during the periods between 2009-2013, 2016-2021, 2025-present and was supporting the Denkov government between 2023-2024.

History

[edit]

GERB is headed by former Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov, the former mayor of Sofia, former member of the National Movement Simeon II and former personal guard of Todor Zhivkov in the 1990s. The establishment of the party followed the creation of a non-profit organization with the acronym (in Bulgarian) GERB — Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, earlier the same year.

In early January 2007,[17] and early February 2007,[18] the party came second in public polls on party support with around 14%, trailing the Bulgarian Socialist Party which had around 25%. Its stated priorities are fighting crime and corruption, preserving family as the cornerstone of society and achieving energy independence.

GERB won the 2009 European Parliament election in Bulgaria with 24.36% of the vote. The party elected five MEPs and joined the European People's Party Group in the European Parliament (in the EPP section). On June 6, 2007, GERB applied formally to join as a member-party the European People's Party[19] and joined EPP on February 7, 2008.[20]

GERB won the 2009 parliamentary elections, held a month after the European ballot, winning 39.7% of the popular vote and 116 seats (out of 240). After the elections, a new government was formed, led by Borisov, primarily with GERB members and with 5 independent ministers around Deputy Prime Minister Simeon Djankov. The reformist wing was responsible for some of the most significant legislative victories, including a Constitutional reform to ban tax increases. GERB's candidates for the 2011 presidential election, Rosen Plevneliev and Margarita Popova (presidential nominee and running mate, respectively), won the elections on the second ballot with 52.6% of the popular vote.

On February 20, 2013, the government resigned after nationwide protests demanding it to step down.[21] GERB remained the largest party after the 2013 parliamentary elections with 97 seats, receiving 30.5% of the popular vote. GERB failed to create governing coalition and went to opposition, when other parties supported the Oresharski government. However, due to the collapse of the coalition government in 2014 due to a new, even bigger wave of mass protests, GERB backed into power after the snap elections. GERB formed the second Borisov government with the Reformist Bloc and ABV with the support of the Patriotic Front. GERB's candidates for the 2016 presidential election, Tsetska Tsacheva and Plamen Manushev (presidential nominee and running mate, respectively), lost on the second round with 36.16%, while the opponent Rumen Radev won 59.37% of the votes and became President. After the election, Borisov resigned and the country headed for new elections. On the 2017 parliamentary election, GERB came first once again, winning 33.5% from the vote and 95 seats. He formed the Third Borisov government with the United Patriots. The government was also supported by Volya.

In 2020 GERB suffered a split, as a sizable number of members and local party organizations left alongside former second-in-command Tsvetan Tsvetanov to form the Republicans for Bulgaria party.[22] The whole second half of 2020 saw mass protests against the GERB government, but nevertheless, Borisov did not resign.

In the April 2021 parliamentary election GERB was first with 26.18% of the vote. However, any attempts to form a coalition failed. In the July 2021 snap election, former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's GERB-led coalition came second for first time since the creation of the party, with 23.51 percent of the vote.[23] The next snap election was in November same year, Kiril Petkov's coalition emerged as surprise victors over the conservative GERB party, which dominated Bulgarian politics in the last decade. GERB has been in opposition since December 2021[24] until June 2022 - the fall of Petkov's government. After the 2022 election, government was not formed. After the 2023 election, GERB came first with a little margin over the PP-DB coalition, which came second. PP-DB and GERB formed the Denkov government, but GERB had very few ministers. In March 2024, a so called "rotation" of the government was planned, but the negotiations failed. GERB came first on the June 2024 election and October 2024 election. In January 2025, GERB formed the Zhelyazkov government with BSP, ITN and outside support from APS.

List of chairmen

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No. Name
 Portrait Term of office
1 Tsvetan Tsvetanov

(1965–)

3 December 2006 10 January 2010
2 Boyko Borisov

(1959–)

10 January 2010 Incumbent

Parliamentary leaders

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No. Name
 Portrait National Assembly
1 Krasimir Velchev

(1951–)

41st
2 Boyko Borisov

(1959–)

42nd
3 Tsvetan Tsvetanov

(1965–)

43rd
4 Daniela Daritkova

(1966–)

44th
5 Desislava Atanasova

(1978–)

45th
46th
47th
48th
49th
6 Boyko Borisov

(1959–)

49th

Election results

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National Assembly

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Election Votes % Seats +/– Status
2009 1,678,583 39.72 (#1)
116 / 240
 New Minority
2013 1,081,605 30.55 (#1)
97 / 240
 Decrease 19 Opposition
2014 1,072,491 32.67 (#1)
84 / 240
 Decrease 13 Coalition
2017 1,147,283 32.65 (#1)
95 / 240
 Increase 11 Coalition
Apr 2021[a] 837,707 25.80 (#1)
73 / 240
 Decrease 22 Snap election
Jul 2021[a] 642,165 23.21 (#2)
63 / 240
 Decrease 13 Snap election
Nov 2021[a] 596,456 22.44 (#2)
59 / 240
 Decrease 3 Opposition
2022[a] 634,627 24.48 (#1)
67 / 240
 Increase 8 Snap election
2023[a] 669,924 25.39 (#1)
69 / 240
 Increase 2 Coalition
Jun 2024[a] 530,658 23.99 (#1)
68 / 240
 Decrease 1 Snap election
Oct 2024[a] 642,521 25.52 (#1)
66 / 240
 Decrease 2 Coalition

Presidential

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Election Candidate First round Second round
Votes % Rank Votes % Result
2011 Rosen Plevneliev 1,349,380 40.1 1st 1,698,136 52.6 Won
2016 Tsetska Tsacheva 840,635 22.0 2nd 1,256,485 36.2 Lost
2021 Anastas Gerdzhikov 610,862 22.8 2nd 733,791 31.8 Lost

European Parliament

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Election List leader Votes % Seats +/– EP Group
2007 Dushana Zdravkova 420,001 21.68 (#1)
5 / 18
 New EPP-ED
2009 Rumiana Jeleva 627,693 24.36 (#1)
5 / 18
 Steady 0 EPP
2014 Tomislav Donchev 680,838 30.40 (#1)
6 / 17
 Increase 1
2019[a] Mariya Gabriel 607,194 30.13 (#1)
6 / 17
 Steady 0
2024[a] Rosen Zhelyazkov 474,059 23.55 (#1)
5 / 17
 Decrease 1
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i In coalition with SDS.

Criticism

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Corruption and Misuse of EU Funds

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GERB has faced significant criticism regarding corruption and misuse of EU funds. Bulgaria ranked 67th on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index in 2023, scoring 45 out of 100, penultimate in the European Union, having declined from 71st place in 2009 to a low of 78th in 2021.[25][26][27]

2020–2021 protests

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GERB faced massive public protests in 2020–2021, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of party leader and Prime Minister Boyko Borisov over systemic corruption and poor governance. The protests lasted over 100 consecutive days, marking one of the longest sustained demonstrations in modern Bulgarian history.[28]

The protests were triggered by multiple high-profile corruption scandals, including leaked recordings of senior officials discussing bribes and the resignation of the chief prosecutor amid allegations of protecting organized crime figures close to the government. Demonstrators occupied central Sofia nightly, blocking major intersections and demanding systemic judicial reform.[29]

Contradictions Between EU Rhetoric and Domestic Policy

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GERB has faced criticism regarding apparent contradictions between its formal pro-European alignment in the European Parliament and its record implementing EU integration domestically. Political scientists studying executive behavior in EU candidate and member states have identified what they characterize as "pragmatic populism" among GERB's leadership, whereby EU integration is deployed defensively as a rhetorical shield against domestic political pressure while institutional reforms required for effective integration have been deferred or resisted.[30][31]

This pattern is evident in three major areas of EU integration: Schengen accession, eurozone adoption, and rule of law reforms. Regarding Schengen, Bulgaria met the technical requirements established by European authorities in 2010 but remained outside the area for 15 years. The European Union repeatedly cited rule of law and corruption concerns as the basis for this exclusion—concerns that observers argue GERB's governance did not adequately address.[32][33] Bulgaria gained full Schengen membership on 1 January 2025 following accession on 31 March 2024 (partial, air and sea only), with the final decision driven primarily by initiatives from the EU's Hungarian presidency and European Commission, together with a shift in Austria's position after a Budapest agreement in November 2024 addressing migration concerns.[34][35]

Regarding eurozone adoption, GERB designated euro entry as a priority upon taking office in 2009, with stated target dates of 2013.[36] Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov subsequently announced multiple target dates for Bulgaria's eurozone entry in 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023 each of which was postponed.[37][38][39][40] In January 2025, with Bulgaria's inflation recorded at 0.1% above the Maastricht criterion, Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova announced that the government would not request an extraordinary convergence assessment from EU authorities, despite the narrow gap between Bulgaria's inflation and the required threshold.[41][42] Opposition figures characterized this decision as an impediment to Bulgaria's EU integration objectives. One opposition MP stated: "If our own government does not play a double game, if it does not sabotage us, our chances for the eurozone next year are huge".[43] The GERB-led government reversed this position on February 24, 2025, submitting extraordinary convergence reports to the European Commission and ECB following domestic political pressure.[44]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "European Election Watch Bulgaria". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  2. ^ https://www.gerb.bg/bg/team/zamestnik_predsedateli/list-0-9.html Заместник-председатели
  3. ^ "БСП и ГЕРБ вече почти равни по брой членове" [BSP and GERB now almost even in membership]. 24 Chasa. August 6, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  4. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2017). "Bulgaria". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  5. ^ [1][4]
  6. ^ a b Barzachka, Nina (April 25, 2017). "Bulgaria's government will include far-right nationalist parties for the first time". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Hope, Kerin; Troev, Theodor (June 10, 2009). "Populist promises to clean up Bulgaria". Financial Times. Retrieved December 19, 2011.(registration required)
  8. ^ Novaković, Igor (2010). ""European" and "Extreme" Populists in the Same Row – the New Government of the Republic of Bulgaria" (PDF). Western Balkans Security Observer (17). ISAC Fund: 63–73. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  9. ^ Cristova, Christiana (2010). "Populism: the Bulgarian case" (PDF). Sociedade e Cultura. 13 (2). Goiânia: 221–232. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  10. ^ [1][6][7][8][9]
  11. ^ Viola, Donatella M. (August 14, 2015). Routledge Handbook of European Elections. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-50363-7 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ [1][11]
  13. ^ Smilov, Daniel; Jileva, Elena (2009), "The politics of Bulgarian citizenship: National identity, democracy and other uses", Citizenship Policies in the New Europe, Amsterdam University Press, p. 229
  14. ^ Jansen, Thomas; Van Hecke, Steven (2012), At Europe's Service: The Origins and Evolution of the European People's Party, Springer, p. 78
  15. ^ [1][7][13][14]
  16. ^ "Members | International Democracy Union". February 1, 2018.
  17. ^ "Socialists Lead GERB in Bulgarian Politics: Angus Reid Global Monitor". Angus Reid Public Opinion. Vision Critical. Archived from the original on July 8, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  18. ^ "Socialists Gain, GERB Second in Bulgaria: Angus Reid Global Monitor". Angus Reid Public Opinion. Vision Critical. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  19. ^ "Лидерът на ПП ГЕРБ е на двудневно посещение в Брюксел". ГЕРБ (in Bulgarian). June 6, 2007. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  20. ^ "Bulgaria's GERB joins European People's Party". SEtimes.com. February 8, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  21. ^ New York Times, The (February 20, 2013). "After Bulgarian Protests, Prime Minister Resigns". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  22. ^ Capital.bg (September 24, 2020). "Заплаха ли е за ГЕРБ новата партия на Цветанов". www.capital.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  23. ^ "Final Results In Bulgarian Vote Confirm Win For Anti-Elite Party". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. July 14, 2021.
  24. ^ "Kiril Petkov chosen by Bulgarian parliament as next prime minister". euronews. December 13, 2021.
  25. ^ "2023 Corruption Perception Index Report - Bulgaria among Worst Performers in EU". Bulgarian Telegraph Agency. January 29, 2024.
  26. ^ "Bulgaria's Corruption Ranking Hits a New Low in 2024". Novinite. February 10, 2025.
  27. ^ "Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Detained In EU Corruption Investigations". RadioFreeEurope. March 17, 2022.
  28. ^ "Bulgaria protests enter 100th consecutive day as demonstrators denounce widespread corruption". Euronews. October 17, 2020.
  29. ^ "EU parliament chastises Bulgaria for rule of law deficiencies". Reuters. October 8, 2020.
  30. ^ "Bulgaria and the euro". Wikipedia. June 10, 2006.
  31. ^ "How National Executives in Bulgaria and Serbia Manipulate EU Rule of Law Conditionality" (PDF). Semantic Scholar. 2021.
  32. ^ "Romania, Bulgaria's long overdue accession to the Schengen area". Renew Europe. December 11, 2024.
  33. ^ "No EU border-free zone for Romania and Bulgaria". BBC News. December 7, 2022.
  34. ^ "Romania and Bulgaria join the Schengen Area: no more 'second-class membership'". OSW. December 12, 2024.
  35. ^ "Bulgaria and Romania are granted full Schengen membership with one caveat". Euronews. December 11, 2024.
  36. ^ "Bulgaria Shelves Plans to Join Ailing Euro Bloc". Wall Street Journal. September 2, 2012.
  37. ^ "Bulgaria hopes to join euro zone 'waiting room' by year-end". Reuters. July 26, 2019.
  38. ^ "Bulgaria looks to the eurozone". Politico. January 22, 2015.
  39. ^ "Bulgaria could join the euro early in 2022 - finance minister". Reuters. January 28, 2019.
  40. ^ "Bulgaria and the euro". Wikipedia. June 10, 2006.
  41. ^ "Bulgaria's new government gives up on January 2026 eurozone entry". IntelliNews. January 22, 2025.
  42. ^ "New Bulgarian Government Abandons January 1, 2026 Eurozone Entry Bid". Novinite.com. January 23, 2025.
  43. ^ "Martin Dimitrov: If our own government does not play a double game". Fakti.bg. February 23, 2025.
  44. ^ "Bulgaria to Request Ad Hoc Convergence Reports for Eurozone Entry". Bulgarian Telegraph Agency. February 16, 2025.
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