In a packed sports hall in the ancient city of Plovdiv, Rumen Radev warmed to his theme as he launched his election campaign: It’s time get rid of corruption and set Bulgaria on a new course, he said.

“Our goal is clear — take down the oligarchy,” the former president told the crowd of some 3,000 people on March 21. “Let’s take back the country, strengthen law, strengthen democracy and civil liberties.”

Radev, 62, is the man bidding to break the political sclerosis that’s seeing Bulgaria hold its eighth election in five years this weekend. He’s also a man who could be a wild card for the country’s allies in the European Union as he seeks to balance Bulgaria’s traditional interests in East and West.

Radev, Bulgaria’s head of state for nine years before resigning in January, is on track to win Sunday’s election in one of the EU’s poorest members, according to opinion polls.

The vote comes after Hungarians decided to ditch Viktor Orban as their prime minister last weekend in a landslide blow that would give the opposition an opportunity to reverse 16 years of his Moscow-friendly rule. Like Orban, Radev has been a critic of the EU and made overtures to Russia.

Riding a wave of public discontent with Bulgaria’s dominant political figures, Radev has for years looked to win the support of Moscow-friendly Bulgarians — a popular stance in a country with close historical and economic ties to Russia. More recently, he’s said Bulgaria should have a stronger voice in the EU and NATO to help both alliances.

But Radev has repeatedly opposed European sanctions against Moscow on grounds they’re hurting Europe and has called supporters of military aid to Ukraine “warmongers,” echoing Hungary under Orban. An outspoken critic of the bloc’s environmental policies, he has called to restore oil supplies from Russia and has opposed shutting down coal plants.

“Bulgaria’s geopolitical stance is an ever-growing risk, as the pro-Russian vote in parliament grows with each election,” said Goran Georgiev, a senior analyst at the Center for the Study of Democracy in Sofia. “The next election may be yet another step in this direction.”

Campaigning in the aftermath of mass anti-corruption protests that toppled yet another government, the former air force general and his party are promising to free businesses from politics and overhaul the judiciary.

Bulgaria has made huge progress since joining the EU in 2007. Living standards, as measured by per-capita consumption adjusted for local prices, are now virtually on par with Hungary’s. The country of 6.4 million people adopted the euro on Jan. 1, despite Radev’s attempts to delay membership with a referendum.

Radev’s popularity comes as the country struggles to overcome years of political deadlock. Former long-term Prime Minister Boyko Borissov still leads the biggest party and may place second on Sunday. But recent elections have failed to produce a stable coalition, with fewer and fewer voters turning out. The advent of Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party is expected to see a majority of the electorate cast a vote.

Should he prevail, the question for Europe is what comes next. Many of Radev’s supporters see him as an alternative to the mainstream. Georgi Abrashev, a pensioner, is among those who are skeptical of the current EU elite and particularly European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

He also wants Bulgaria to foster closer ties with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, something Orban in Hungary has done. Indeed, Radev has repeatedly said he respected the outgoing Hungarian prime minister’s “strong leadership,” inviting him to Sofia two years ago.

“Enough of listening to Von der Leyen,” Abrashev, 81, said in a packed community center in the town of Samokov minutes before Radev entered the hall to meet his supporters. “He’ll be able to keep ties with both Trump and Putin, and he’ll secure cheap gas and oil for us from Russia.”

Radev has softened his enthusiasm for Orban since Sunday's defeat. He told supporters on Tuesday that “the Hungarian elections proved that no government can resist the mass popular vote’’ and urged them to turn up to vote to deliver change.

Years of failed attempts to fight corruption have engendered distrust among the public and between political parties.

While almost two decades of EU membership have helped Bulgaria narrow the wealth gap with the rest of the bloc, it has remained at the bottom in rule of law and media freedom rankings. Links between politicians, criminals and judiciary officials have led to dozens of high-ranking investigations with no convictions.

There are also issues with disinformation. Last month, Bulgaria’s interim government triggered the EU’s Rapid Response System, a mechanism between online platforms, NGOs and fact-checkers the EU can provide to help ensure fair elections. The government also created a coordination body.

A report by the Balkan Free Media Initiative and Sensika, a Bulgarian media monitoring company, found that the information environment is “already being manipulated at scale.” Pro-Radev content in some social media far outpaced any other political force in the country, the report found. It didn’t directly blame the candidate, calling the manipulation so sophisticated that it was hard to ‘‘distinguish from genuine public sentiment.”

Radev has criticized the government, calling the efforts “a campaign against the forthcoming elections.” Echoing U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who accused the EU of election interference in Hungary, Radev warned that the fate of the Bulgarian vote should be decided only by its own citizens.

“Those who emptied our pockets are now reaching for our democratic freedoms,” he told the crowd in Samokov. “They know they will be defeated, so they are preparing to discredit the elections and are doing it openly.”

A failure to produce a majority may lead to another election in the second half of the year, together with a planned presidential vote. Unless he opts for a minority government, Radev may have to rely on the backing of either pro-Kremlin nationalists or parties he has repeatedly criticized. The Socialists — a party that’s polling close to the threshold required to enter parliament — are also a possible ally. Radev has vowed to shun his arch-rival Borissov and Delyan Peevski, a former media mogul sanctioned by the U.S. and U.K. for alleged corruption.

“Radev is a general, I trust him,” said Abrashev, the pensioner. He worked at various positions in the Defense Ministry before retiring at 55, spending another 20 years working as a security guard because his pension was too small. “Everyone before him just stole and did nothing else. If he has majority, we have a chance.”

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(With assistance from Irina Vilcu.)

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