28513 | 29 Jan. 2026 | 19:46
In the upcoming elections, we are competitors with Radev for the trust of the citizens. Afterwards, in parliament, we can collaborate, says Gabriel Valkov, Member of Parliament from BSP-UNITED LEFT.
Here are some highlights from the interview:
Radev has not yet determined whether he is on the left or on the right. So far, every left-wing person who wants to vote can do so by voting for BSP. Each vote for another party is not a vote for a left-wing party.
As chairman of BSP, Atanas Zafirov can only offer "more of the same," but I do not believe that the party wants that.
BSP must present itself to the voters in the parliamentary vote with new policies and new faces.
For me, the most important thing is for the party to be unified, because these elections will be very difficult.
Gabriel Valkov was born in 1996 in Sofia. He graduated from the "Doris Tenedi" Language High School. Acquires a diploma in higher education from the New Bulgarian University with a major in "Politics and Society". Completes a master's degree in "Energy Markets and Services" at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". Fluent in English and Greek. Member of BSP (Bulgarian Socialist Party) since 2015. Chairman of the National Council of the Youth Union in BSP since 2022. Former member of the Executive Bureau of BSP. Chairman of the Commission on Youth and Sports in the 51st National Assembly
- How do you see the upcoming campaign - both within BSP and for the parliamentary elections, Mr. Valkov?
- The intra-party campaign is going according to plan - at the last meeting of the National Council, a decision was made to hold a congress on February 7 and 8 with a very clear agenda: the first point - to evaluate the participation of BSP in the government; the second - to adopt the party's new electoral platform for the upcoming elections; the third - termination of the term of the current party leader; and the fourth - election of a new party leader. I believe that these four steps are absolutely necessary for the party. We must evaluate its participation in the government. The new policies that we will present in the upcoming parliamentary elections are also very important. And of course - something that the party structures want and which was supported by the National Council, but we will see what the decision of the congress will be - to elect a new party leader, who will follow these new policies that we are discussing, to propose a new team with new faces, because this is necessary for the left as a whole. And so - with new policies and new faces to present ourselves at the upcoming parliamentary elections.
- You talk about new policies and new faces, but we remember that Kornelia Ninova resigned as leader of the BSP the next day, after you lowered a banner with the inscription "Resignation" from the top floor of "Positano". Now you are part of the Executive Bureau of the BSP, which was elected after this resignation. In this sense, do you see yourself as a new face and a candidate for the leadership position?
- Members of the Executive Bureau, including myself, have submitted our resignations and thus took responsibility for the mistakes we have made. We took responsibility for not being vocal and assertive enough about certain policies and directions that the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) has taken over the last year. I have stated this to the National Council of the party, where I submitted my resignation. Sometimes in politics, one must say "I'm sorry!" and take a step back. Something that the party leader did not do. I have told him multiple times that the dignified behavior at the moment is to apologize - as we did - and take a step back. Especially now, during the campaign for party leader, nominations are currently taking place throughout the country. Let's see who will gather how many nominations and who is trusted by the structures. At the moment, many people from all over the country have nominated me as a representative of the Youth Union in the party, as one of the youngest Members of Parliament and the youngest in the BSP group. The party simply sees the change through the youth and new people within the party. We will see what kind of support I will gather from the structures, and then – when the congress comes, I will decide whether to remain as a candidate or withdraw and support one of the other candidates. For me, the most important thing is for the party to be united, because these elections will be very difficult and we must go through this path together.
- You are asking many questions, I will try to answer them one by one. On January 31, a meeting of the National Council is scheduled. The question of canceling the congress has already been raised in the public space. The motives behind this are justified - an internal party battle at the congress can be very "bloody", and this will weaken the party and its positions before the elections. What is your opinion?
- The congress is the highest organ of the party. I believe that the 900 delegates have enough sense not to allow conflicts and division. I trust that together we can walk this path without division and internal party tension - to make a transition that the party requires from us. I do not see the congress as a place to rest, but rather as a uniting meeting, where we can together outline the new path for the left and specifically for BSP.
- The history of BSP proves you wrong. So far, all congresses have been a fierce arena of internal party battles, often even taking a personal turn. It is hard to believe that this will not happen again.
- I believe that the congress can show reason and we should not be afraid to convene it, because someone might quarrel with others. I do not see a valid reason to postpone the congress. I have also heard other reasons from the party chairman, such as lack of funding for this congress. As the Youth Union in BSP, we are completely ready to talk with the party structures and, if necessary, organize a fundraising campaign if the problem is financial. For us, this congress is important because it can set the new path for BSP, which I believe the whole party wants. Otherwise, this leadership, in the face of this chairman, may propose "more of the same". I don't think the party wants "more of the same".
- After the elections, will you hold another congress - to make an analysis?
- We will see if it will be necessary. Let the elections pass and let's see how the party will perform. But for me - two congresses in two months are a bit too much, but if the party demands it, we are obliged to listen.
- On January 10, the National Council of the BSP both gave a positive assessment of the participation of socialist ministers in the government and called for a congress to replace Chairman Atanas Zafirov, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister in this government. Isn't this quite contradictory?
- I think this is being misunderstood. The BSP ministers have done a good job. This was a struggle with the water crisis, over 50 kilometers of highways were built in one year - at the regional ministry; in the environmental ministry - the fight for clean air continues with the closure of a factory in Veliko Tarnovo; in the social ministry - an increase in motherhood, minimum wage, and pensions; in sports - 43 sports facilities were renovated or built, the ministry's budget was increased by one third and these funds went entirely towards sports. Each minister did their job, but the overall evaluation of BSP's participation in the government - that we were together with GERB, ITN, with the support of "New Beginning", we consider this as bad and something that should not have happened in this way. It is the responsibility of the chairman - because he did not stand firmly enough for the policies of the BSP (Bulgarian Socialist Party). We had many proposals that did not make it into the government's program. The budget was not adopted, which is also a problem. We at BSP wanted there to be a state budget because at the moment we have thrown the whole country into crisis - there is no increase in income, no increase in pensions, no increase in maternity benefits, while prices continue to rise. In other words, there was no reason in the government as a whole, for which BSP was not to blame. Boyko Borisov and Delyan Peevski were to blame and I think society showed it when 200,000 people were on the streets protesting against them, not against BSP.
- Last week, the parliamentary group of BSP was divided on the topic of the Electoral Code. Nine deputies did not enter the hall and became part of those who made it impossible to watch the changes in the Code. Which group are you from?
- Thanks to me, Atanas Atanasov and a few other colleagues from our parliamentary group, these hasty changes were stopped. The parliament did not meet for two consecutive days because we were stopping the sessions. We were in the plenary hall - we were not lazy at home, we went to work and simply did not register because, in our opinion, changing the Electoral Code at 12 without five is absolutely unacceptable. It is not possible to change 222 paragraphs in the law within one day, in a legal commission session that lasted until 4 am, hastily written and completely changing the electoral system in Bulgaria and doing it at the last moment before the elections. There was a whole year to make changes, but none were made. At the last moment - it's not allowed. And the Venice Commission recommends that electoral rules not be changed six months before elections. Trust in the electoral process in Bulgaria is already lost, it is not normal to make drastic changes at the last minute and confuse people completely. That is why we have a very clear position - there must be voting with paper and voting with machines. Every Bulgarian citizen can choose what to trust - the machine or the paper. However, the machines must print a protocol and the control receipts must be counted, so that we can check whether the machines have been manipulated or not.
- Does this division in the parliamentary group reflect a division within the party or not?
- No, I do not think so, because the decision of the parliamentary group was for this point to be voted on according to conscience.
- But changes to the Electoral Code still entered the plenary hall and the group of BSP split again during the voting. You probably know what is being said on social media – those who do not vote together with GERB and TISP are “people of Radev“. Is that so?
- I do not think we should label Members of Parliament who have their own opinions on certain issues as people of Borisov, people of Peevski, or people of Radev. Our position on the Electoral Code, which we announced last week, is that changes cannot be made at the last minute. What we insist on is transparency in the electoral process, because there is a lot of mistrust towards it. Today, me and some of my colleagues from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) voted "FOR" the proposal made by the People's Party and the Democrats to have the machines print a protocol and count the paper ballots for transparency. According to us, every Bulgarian citizen should be able to choose whether to vote on a machine or on paper. This is a right to choose. In order to eliminate doubts about the machines expressed by some people, we voted for the machine to print a protocol and for the polling commission to count the paper ballots that it prints. This is the only way to check for any manipulation or ensure the fairness of the elections.
- Are there any lobbies or groups in BSP?
- In BSP, there have always been different groups of people with different opinions, like in any left-wing party. Left-wing parties, unlike others, are mass parties. BSP has 300 regional and municipal organizations. It is normal for there to be people with different opinions within 300 organizations on various issues, which is why majorities are sought. This is democratic, this is the normal way things happen. When more than half of the people want something, then BSP makes that decision. These diverse opinions make BSP colorful and different from all other parties.
- What is your attitude towards Rumen Radev - both yours and in BSP? Doesn't this attitude divide the party?
- I regularly visit party structures - they invite me to meetings, conferences. The attitude of socialists towards Rumen Radev is positive - after all, we have elected him as president twice. However, at the moment, especially in these elections, we are competitors and we are fighting for the citizens' trust. After the BSP and Rumen Radev's party enter the National Assembly, my personal opinion is that we can shake hands and partner with each other. As long as this partnership is mutual and they want it. In my view, this is a natural path for the left, because the path it has been on so far - with GERB and "New Beginning" - is not the right one. This is not just my assessment, but that of most socialists.
- You say "the socialists chose Rumen Radev twice as president". But he never once turned to the BSP and said "Thank you!" Doesn't that cause disappointment in the party?
- There are certainly people who are disappointed by this. But, as I said, I believe that in politics there should be much more dialogue, sometimes a person should apologize, other times say "Thank you", especially to the citizens. The problem of politicians is their ego. We can see it even in the parliamentary parties - the clash of egos is a problem, coalitions fall apart. I am from a different generation and for me dialogue, sitting at one table and discussing all issues is essential. Because every party is elected by Bulgarian citizens who have sent them to parliament to govern the country. Sometimes we have to say thank you, sometimes - to say "I'm sorry", but sometimes - to say "No!" The problem of BSP in the last parliament was that they rarely said "No". And this is my vision for BSP - that we should say "No" more often. Of course, we should also say "Yes" when something good happens.
- In order to enter into dialogue with the other parliamentary forces, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) must enter parliament, but according to many analysts, this is not likely to happen. On one hand, it will be attacked by Rumen Radev - you (BSP) claim to be competitors, on the other hand, there is NInova with her party "Rebellious Bulgaria". And Ninova has many sympathizers among the leftists. How will BSP overcome the 4% threshold in this scenario?
- Rumen Radev has not yet defined himself as either left or right. So far, any left-leaning person who wants to vote can do so by voting for BSP. Any vote for another party is not a vote for a left-wing party. I believe that BSP will enter the next parliament, because socialists have no other option but to vote for BSP.
- Krum Zarkov announced that he will be a candidate for leader of BSP. You (BSP) claim to have nominations. How do you see him as your competitor?
- Krum Zarkov and I are friends, colleagues, and have worked together many times in the past. Four years ago, he was also a nominated candidate for leader of BSP and I supported him as the chairman of the Youth Union. However, his decision back then was to withdraw. Now he says that he will play at all costs. My views in life and in politics are that nothing comes at any cost. I see Krum Zarkov as a person we can work with, but let's see which path the congress will choose. The path can be either the same as Atanas Zafirov's or the path of change, which is expressed in different faces – one of which is me, and the other is Krum Zarkov. But the most important thing is for nothing to come at any cost. We need to show reason, we are a collective party, not a leadership-based one. "A lot of reasoning, a lot of dialogue, sometimes - concessions must be made by each candidate in order for us to move forward together on this difficult path."
- Atanas Zafirov announced in an interview for BNT: "I will not be on the ballot, we must give way to the young!" How would you comment on this?
- True responsibility is taken when you resign and step aside. Giving way and allowing new people to move forward is not a real taking of responsibility, but hiding behind the scenes and letting new actors onto the stage."
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