VMRO – Bulgarian National Movement
VMRO – Bulgarian National Movement ВМРО – Българско Национално Движение | |
---|---|
Antiziganism[10] | |
Political position | Right-wing[11] to far-right[12] |
Religion | Bulgarian Orthodox Church |
European affiliation | European Conservatives and Reformists Party |
European Parliament group | European Conservatives and Reformists |
Colours | Red Black |
National Assembly | 0 / 240 |
European Parliament | 2 / 17 |
Municipalities | 7 / 265 |
Sofia City Council | 1 / 61 |
Party flag | |
Website | |
vmro | |
VMRO – Bulgarian National Movement (Bulgarian: ВМРО – Българско Национално Движение, romanized: VMRO – Bulgarsko Natsionalno Dvizhenie), commonly known as VMRO, is a national conservative political party in Bulgaria.[13]
History
The VMRO acronym is derived from the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, a historic Bulgarian-led revolutionary political organization in the Macedonia and Thrace regions of the Ottoman Empire, which the party claims as its predecessor.[14][2]
At the time of its founding in 1989, the organization's name was VMRO-Union of Macedonian Associations. At the fourth congress in 1997, VMRO-UMA dropped the UMA from its name.
For the 2001 Bulgarian parliamentary election, VMRO signed a coalition agreement with the George's Day Movement. The right-wing project received 3.63 percent of the vote, just shy of the 4.00 percent threshold.
During the following parliamentary election in 2005, the party was able to enter parliament, this time as a member of the Bulgarian People's Union.
VMRO was denied registration for the 2009 parliamentary election.
In the 2011 race for president, then-party leader Krasimir Karakachanov was nominated as a candidate. He received about one percent support.
For the May 2014 European Parliament election, the party was part of "Bulgaria Without Censorship", which included
In August 2014, a coalition agreement between the
In the 2016 presidential election, party leader Karakachanov threw his hat in the ring again, this time finishing third with over 14 percent of the vote.
VMRO's highest political achievement to date came following the 2017 parliamentary election. After the United Patriots coalition, of which VMRO was a member, won almost 10 percent of the vote, it formed a government with GERB, where Karakachanov became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence while Neno Dimov was given the Ministry of the Environment.
Despite protests against the government, it completed its full four-year mandate, during which VMRO was credited with a number of achievements, such as child tax credits for working families, higher salaries and improved working conditions for the military,[18] and the 2017 Bulgaria-Macedonia Friendship Agreement.[19]
In addition to the unprecedented success at the national level, at the
Later that year, at the local elections, the party surpassed expectations yet again by having four candidates elected to the Sofia City Council, one of them, Carlos Contrera, becoming chairman of the Transportation Committee.
In the upcoming 2021 parliamentary election, VMRO for the first time decided to go it alone. The party received 3.59 percent of the vote and was left out of Parliament.
Ahead of the second
That alliance won fewer votes than VMRO secured as a standalone party in the preceding election and was quickly dissolved.For the third
At the next party congress in February 2022, VMRO leader Karakachanov submitted his resignation after more than 30 years at the helm. He was replaced by three co-chairmen: Angel Djambazki, Iskren Veselinov, and Alexander Sidi.
In the following parliamentary election later that year, VMRO ran as a standalone perty again and received less than one percent of the vote.
The party announced that it would not be participating in the 2023 parliamentary election, expecting that the election would yield a similar result to the ones before and accused the other parties of driving Bulgaria into an economic and political crisis. Instead, VMRO called on its supporters to boycott the vote.[22] The "None of the Above" vote surpassed 4 percent, three times higher than in the previous election.
On the 17th of February, 2024, the party's former leader and honorary president Krasimir Karakachanov was re-selected to lead the party by an emergency congress, beating out one of the parties co-leaders, MEP Angel Dzhambanski.[23]
Ideology
Identity
VMRO describes itself as a conservative and patriotic party based on modern nationalism. It defines itself as leading a "pan-Bulgarian national movement" aiming at "spiritual unity of the Bulgarian nation".
It is known as a strongly nationalist and
Economic policy
VMRO supports the promotion of economic freedom via lower taxes and a lighter administrative burden on businesses, in addition to tax incentives for large investments, with the goal of fostering a knowledge-based economy.
Social issues
VMRO is staunchly
During the
Party leaders have also expressed the opinion that the protests were organized by "a few
Similarly, it also proposed constitutional amendments that would ban people without a certain level of academic qualifications from voting in elections or referendums, as well as amendments that would bring back mandatory conscription for all males.[25]
Minorities
VMRO expresses an
Foreign policy
VMRO supports Bulgaria's membership of
The party also opposes the accession of Turkey to the European Union and wants to reform or end many of the EU's migration policies to "prevent Brussels from committing suicide in Europe." VMRO states that Bulgaria should see international alliances as "civilizational" and a means of protecting Western Christian identity, European solidarity, and Bulgaria's interests.[29]
Although the party condemned the
Election results
National Assembly
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Rank | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997[a] | 2,223,714 | 52.3 | 137 / 240
|
137 | 1st | Coalition |
2001[b] | 165,927 | 3.63 | 0 / 240
|
137 | 5th | Extra-parliamentary |
2005[c] | 189,268 | 5.19 | 13 / 240
|
13 | 7th | Opposition |
2009 | Barred from participation | |||||
2013 | 66,803 | 1.89 | 0 / 240
|
0 | 8th | Extra-parliamentary |
2014[d] | 239,101 | 7.29 | 19 / 240
|
19 | 5th | Support |
2017[e] | 318,513 | 9.07 | 12 / 240
|
7 | 3rd | Coalition |
Apr 2021 | 116,430 | 3.58 | 0 / 240
|
8 | 7th | Extra-parliamentary |
Jul 2021[f] | 85,795 | 3.10 | 0 / 240
|
0 | 7th | Extra-parliamentary |
Nov 2021 | 28,319 | 1.07 | 0 / 240
|
0 | 9th | Extra-parliamentary |
2022 | 20,177 | 0.78 | 0 / 240
|
0 | 10th | Extra-parliamentary |
- United Democratic Forces.
- ^ Results with George's Day Movement.
- ^ Results of the alliance Bulgarian People's Union.
- Patriotic Front.
- ^ Results of the alliance United Patriots.
- ^ Results of the alliance Bulgarian Patriots.
European Parliament
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009[a] | 57,931 | 2.25 | 0 / 18
|
0 | 9th |
2014[b] | 238,629 | 10.66 | 2 / 17
|
2 | 4th |
2019 | 143,830 | 7.14 | 2 / 17
|
0 | 4th |
- ^ Results with Forwards.
- ^ Results with Bulgaria Uncensored.
See also
- The National Youth Committee of VMRO
References
- ^ "Само 344 000 членове стоят зад партиите в парламента" [Parties in Parliament only have 344,000 members]. 24 Chasa. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ )
- ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2017). "Bulgaria". Parties and Elections in Europe.
- ^ Norris, Pippa. Cultural Backlash and the Rise of Populism. Cambridge University Press. p. 240.
- ^ "ВМРО предупреди за нова джендър пропаганда. Атака ги обвини, че точно те я прокарват | Политика". offnews.bg.
- ^ "Защо има "София прайд"". dw.com (in Bulgarian). Deutsche Welle. 20 June 2016.
- ^ Bechev, Dimitar (2009). Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia. Scarecrow Press.
Renamed VMRO-Bulgarian National Movement in 1998, the organization gradually transformed into a right-wing populist political party in the 2000s under the leadership of Krasimir Karakachanov
- ^ Dandolov, Philip (2014). "The sinking fortunes of Euroscepticism in Bulgaria". Istituto per l'Europa Centro Orientale e Balcanica. Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ "Tolerating the "Intolerable Partner:" Once Shunned, Bulgaria's United Patriots Joins the Governing Coalition – Foreign Policy Research Institute".
- ^ "Вижте концепцията на ВМРО за промени в политиката за интеграция на циганите – Труд". trud.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ "Bulgaria Repeats Threat to Block North Macedonia Over History Feud". Balkan Insight. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Fascists and football: Bulgaria's deep-rooted and interconnected racism problem | DW | 16.10.2019". DW.COM.
- ^ "Bulgaria". Europe Elects. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ISBN 0810872021, p. 227.
- ISBN 0810862956, p. 104.
- ^ "NFSB and VMRO sign Patriotic Front coalition (in Bulgarian)". VMRO.bg.
- ^ "Bulgaria's Parliament Legislates Voluntary Military Service". The Sofia Globe. 16 December 2020.
- ^ "Bulgarian Parliament unanimously ratifies good-neighbourliness treaty with Macedonia". The Sofia Globe. 18 January 2018.
- ^ "Volya, National Front for Salvation of Bulgaria Form Patriotic Coalition".
- ^ "Ultra-nationalists, populists form 'Bulgarian Patriots' alliance for July elections". 20 May 2021.
- ^ "ВМРО се отказа от участие в изборите, прави кампания за бойкот на вота (VMRO Refuses To Take Part In Election, Calls On Supporters To Boycott The Vote)". 26 February 2023.
- ^ "Каракачанов се завърна начело на ВМРО-БНД". 17 February 2024.
- )
- ^ a b "След изявлението на Борисов: ВМРО искат още "6 неща" в Конституцията". bTV Новините. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ "Протести срещу властта за 32-ри ден, какво се случва". Vesti.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ "Вижте концепцията на ВМРО за промени в политиката за интеграция на циганите – Труд". trud.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ "Tolerating the "Intolerable Partner:" Once Shunned, Bulgaria's United Patriots Joins the Governing Coalition". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ "BULGARIA FOR BULGARIANS, EUROPE FOR EUROPEANS". Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ "Каракачанов: Решението за конфликта в Украйна не бива да бъде военно | Dnes.bg".
External links
Media related to IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement at Wikimedia Commons