Bulgaria’s right-wing nationalist party Vazrazhdane (Revival) has introduced legislation to withdraw Bulgaria from NATO the same month as the country’s 20th anniversary of membership in the alliance. The party argues that continued membership in the organization is detrimental to Bulgaria’s national security.
“NATO is the repressive apparatus of the USA, where the member states are anything but equal partners,” reads the argument for the bill. Vazrazhdane claims that U.S. weapons and support are fueling the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, and Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The bill has zero chance of adoption in parliament, however Vazrazhdane‘s goal in introducing the bill is to bolster voter support ahead of the European elections in June.
As with other right-wing populist and nationalist parties across Europe, support for Vazrazhdane in Bulgaria is growing. The party is expected to take around 13 percent of the vote in the EU elections and around 10 percent of the vote in national parliamentary elections. The party placed third in Bulgaria’s latest parliamentary elections in April 2023.
An analysis performed last year found that around a third of Europeans now vote for right-wing populist parties.
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