GERMANY PERSPECTIVE

Berlin poses the most direct question of the entire pool: 'Wird ein neuer Viktor Orbán Bulgarien regieren?' — 'Will a new Orbán govern Bulgaria?' This is Deutsche Welle's German headline, revealing that for Berlin, the stakes are European, not Bulgarian.

Deutsche Welle in English provides the most detailed analysis of the political landscape. The key figure: it is the first political force to achieve an absolute majority alone since 1997 — nearly 30 years. Borissov's GERB falls below 20% for the first time in its history, a historic collapse. DW notes that only five parties will enter parliament against nine in the previous election — a radical simplification of the landscape.

DW in German reveals a biographical detail no one else mentions: Radev trained as a pilot under communist dictatorship and was placed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (heir to the Communist Party) in 2016. Even more tellingly: DW cites Leonid Reshetnikov, a former Russian intelligence officer, who allegedly boasted of negotiating Radev's nomination with BSP leadership. Germany does not ask 'Is Radev pro-Russian?' — it documents the channels through which Moscow invested in his career.