Talk:Progressive Bulgaria

Inclusion of VMRO

I would be hesitant to include VMRO as part of the coalition, it was a unilateral decision by them and none of their candidates are leading any of PB's lists. Since the other parties are also just vessels for Radev's whims and wishes we have to wait until he gives us more info. If he ever does... BleachyXd (talk) 08:45, 17 March 2026 (UTC)

i believe you're right. we can maybe put VMRO in a different "supported by" section? ~2026-17521-48 (talk) 16:21, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

That seems fair!! I doubt any other party will do it (support them), but they are for sure not a part of the coalition. BleachyXd (talk) 23:17, 20 March 2026 (UTC)

Adding to the Ideology section

Can we attempt to add more to the ideology section, as many different news sources do not consider the electoral coalition Progressive Bulgaria to be social democratic despite the stated ideology of its composition parties. At the very least Progressive Bulgaria is not *only* social democratic. A lot of the programme of the party is actually on the right when it comes to economics, although ultimately it seems to be populist and devoid of anything concrete. But they still state that they want to preserve Bulgaria's flat tax system, end chronic budget deficits, return state redistribution to 40% of GDP, and maintain fiscal discipline where borrowing only finances investment, not consumption. I am giving a couple of sources in the Bulgarian media for reference:

https://www.novinite.com/articles/237612/Progressive+Bulgaria%3A+Radev%27s+Blueprint+for+Dismantling+the+Oligarchy#:~:text=Progressive%20Bulgaria%27s,wearing%20populist%20clothing.

https://paragraf.bg/rumen-radev-i-progresivna-balgariya-politichesko-prizemyavane-na-dyasnata-pista/

However, some see it as a left-wing party so that truly speaks more about a big tent populist/populist centrist sort of formation: https://www.capital.bg/politika_i_ikonomika/bulgaria/2026/03/06/4889085_noviiat_proekt_na_radev_liavo_na_bord/

~2026-19463-09 (talk) 20:27, 28 March 2026 (UTC)

Well everyone is free to add to the ideology section and infobox, but only if they actually have a source stating that specifically Progressive Bulgaria is those things. Not Rumen Radev in the past, not Rumen Radev now, or not its constituent parties, but specifically the alliance. And I've seen rather little of that. polish ✹ kurd 21:26, 28 March 2026 (UTC)

Weird ideology

The article claims that the party is centre-left but endorsed("supporting parties" in the info box) by a party on the right to "far-right". That doesn`t make any sense to me. ~2026-22806-77 (talk) 21:56, 13 April 2026 (UTC)

Ideology

For some reason the articles infobox describes Progressive Bulgaria as "center-left to left-wing". I believe this to be contradicted by a range of sources. Here are just a few key points:

1. Radev's economic program was described as taking a "right-wing turn" by one of their MP candidates, Slavi Vassilev. (https://www.dunavmost.com/novini/slavi-vasilev-ikonomicheskata-programa-na-rumen-radev-pravi-desen-zavoi)

2. The economic program of Rumen Radev includes committment to low debt (40% debt ceiling), making sure welfare spending doesn't get funded through taking on new loans, keeping the flat tax- all of which are traditionally considered right-wing points (https://www.mediapool.bg/sblasakat-za-parite-koi-e-lyav-i-koi-e-desen-na-izborite-news381612.html)

3. Radev, in interviews, has refused to identify himself as left-wing or right-wing, saying that these terms are not applicable to Bulgaria (https://www.btv.bg/shows/lice-v-lice/videos/izbori-2026-balgarija-reshava-gostuva-rumen-radev.html)

4. Other parties, such as GERB and PP-DB have accused Radev of being ideologically unclear

Due to the above reasons, I believe it would be best to classify Progressive Bulgaria as "syncretic", "catch-all" or "center", as it is true that it includes former socialists who have expressed sympathy for leftist economic policies (such as progressive taxation), but those are not reflected in the official program. Bulpoliticsedit (talk) 16:29, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

None of these constitute a valid reason to re-classify the party. The Wikipedia's WP:OR policy means that we are not allowed to do original research, which includes any analysis or synthesis of published material that reaches or implies a conclusion not stated by the sources, and also: Source material should be carefully summarized or rephrased without changing its meaning or implication, going beyond what the sources express, or using them in ways inconsistent with the intention of the source, such as using material out of context. The reason why the subject is described as centre-left to left-wing is because there are sources that explicitly describe it as either centre-left or left-wing.

1. This is a WP:PRIMARY source. We do not rely on party's members to describe their own party, we rely on independent (WP:SECONDARY) sources instead.

2. And this is precisely why the WP:OR is in place. Unless your source explicitly says that the party is "economically right-wing" or such, this is your own interpretation. Or in other words, original research.

3. WP:ABOUTSELF. Numerous parties have made this claim. An example is Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland and Course of Freedom. Both claimed to be "neither left nor right". Both are considered left-wing to far-left. Why? Because that is how secondary sources have described them as. Does Le Pen stating her party is not extreme right means that it is not extreme-right?

4. Then this is irrelevant. Do we have independent, objective sources that say that, or are we supposed to rely on the subject's opponents to define its ideology. If so, then this is against Wikipedia's guidelines. Brat Forelli🦊 17:23, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

Outdated infobox

The infobox at the top shows them having no seats in the National Assembly, which is completely contradicted by the rest of the article - any chance someone could change this (I can't remember how to!)? !catman, yes! (talk) 08:50, 26 April 2026 (UTC)

Hi @!catman, yes!, the party won seats at the latest election, but the infobox shows seats actually held in the National Assembly. We must therefore wait until the next assembly starts its session before updating this number. Julius Schwarz (talk) 15:52, 26 April 2026 (UTC)

European affiliation

Which political party at the European level will "Progressive Bulgaria" join, or which one is closest to it? Do you think it might be Patriots.eu or Europe of Sovereign Nations (party)? Perhaps it's worth mentioning? 🤔 IgnacyPL (talk) 21:23, 9 May 2026 (UTC)