Volya Movement

Volya[11][12] (Bulgarian: Воля; before 2016 was known as Dnes, before that as Liberal Alliance), is a right-wing populist[2] political party in Bulgaria. The party was founded by Bulgarian businessman, Veselin Mareshki, the party was established around anti-corruption and anti-elitist principles.

Volya Воля
Leader	Veselin Mareshki
Founded	15 July 2007
Headquarters	Varna, Bulgaria
Ideology	Bulgarian nationalism[1] Right-wing populism[2][3][4][5] Anti-corruption[6] Anti-establishment[7] Euroscepticism
Political position	Right-wing[8][9]
National affiliation	Volya-The Bulgarian Patriots[10]
European affiliation	Identity and Democracy Party
Colours	Light blue, White
National Assembly	12 / 240
European Parliament	0 / 17
Website
http://www.volya.bg/
Politics of Bulgaria Political parties Elections

History

The party was founded by Veselin Mareshki on 15 July 2007 as Liberal Alliance. For a short period the party was renamed to Dnes party, and finally the current name, Volya, was adapted on 28 November 2016.[13][14]

After the 2017 Bulgarian parliamentary election, Volya won 12 seats in the National Assembly.[15] After negotiations Volya agreed to support a coalition government between GERB and United Patriots.

In 2018 Volya joined the Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom, now referred to as the Identity and Democracy Party.[16] The European political party organises nationalist parties across Europe and includes the french National Rally, italian League and Freedom Party of Austria.[16]

Volya took part in the 2019 European Parliament election in Bulgaria as a member of the Volya-The Bulgarian Patriots coalition.[17] The coalition also included the Agrarian Union "Aleksandar Stamboliyski", People's Party for Freedom and Dignity and United Social Democrats. Mareshki topped the coalition list however stated he would decide whether to keep his seat if elected. The coalition hoped to gain two seats however failed to gain any coming 6th place.[10]

Political views

The Volya party advocates populist and reform policies, promoting patriotism, strict immigration controls, friendlier relations with Moscow and, the need to "sweep away the garbage" of a corrupt political establishment.[6] Volya advocates for Bulgarian withdrawal from NATO which it views as being economically draining on the Bulgarian people whilst providing no benefits to national security.[18] Despite Veselin Mareshki's calls for a "strong united Europe", the party has been described as generally Eurosceptic.[19]

Volya supports promoting business in Bulgaria with Mareshki stating; "Small and medium businesses are also in our focus. We want less bureaucracy, more opportunities for development, more investment and job creation. There must be strong support from the state, not limitations.".[20] The party recognises Bulgaria's decreasing birth rate, is opposed to increasing immigration into Bulgaria and the party favours state programs that will promote young families to have more children.[20]

Elections

Statistics

Bulgarian National Assembly

Election	# of seats won	# of total votes	% of popular vote	rank
2009	0 / 240	-	-	-
2013	0 / 240	8,873	0.25%	19th
2014	0 / 240	-	-	-
2017	12 / 240	145,637	4.15%	5th

European Parliament

Election	# of seats won	# of total votes	% of popular vote	rank
2019	0 / 17	70,830	3.62%	6th

References

1. "Bulgaria's government will include far-right nationalist parties for the first time". Washington Post. 25 April 2017.
2. Zulianello, Mattia (2019). "Varieties of Populist Parties and Party Systems in Europe: From State-of-the-Art to the Application of a Novel Classification Scheme to 66 Parties in 33 Countries" (PDF). Government and Opposition: 4.
3. https://www.feps-europe.eu/attachments/publications/web_state%20of%20populism%20in%20europe%202018.pdf
4. https://euelectionsbulgaria.com/marine-le-pens-man-in-bulgaria-staged-a-stress-test-for-borissov/
5. https://www.dw.com/en/europes-far-right-populists-eye-eu-elections-at-nice-rally/a-43610963
6. Lyman, Rick (24 February 2017). "In Bulgaria, a Businessman Who Talks (and Acts) Like Trump" – via NYTimes.com.
7. https://neweuropeans.net/article/1817/bulgarian-elections-pro-western-party-may-have-won-european-idea-seems-have-lost
8. Boros, Tamás (2018). The State of Populism in Europe 2017. Friedrich Ebert Foundation. p. 148.
9. https://europeelects.eu/european-union/bulgaria/
10. http://www.bta.bg/en/c/DF/id/1945450
11. "Новата партия на Марешки ще се казва "Воля" - Mediapool.bg".
12. news.bg (28 November 2016). ""Воля" - новата партия на Марешки".
13. "Новата партия на Марешки ще се казва "Воля"". Mediapool.bg.
14. ""Воля" - новата партия на Марешки". news.bg. 28 November 2016.
15. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/04/25/bulgarias-government-will-include-nationalist-parties-on-the-far-right-heres-why-and-what-this-means/
16. https://www.euractiv.com/section/future-eu/news/le-pen-seeks-to-rally-far-right-allies-for-european-elections/
17. https://www.bnt.bg/en/a/volya-party-will-contest-in-the-european-elections-in-a-coalition
18. http://bnr.bg/en/post/100966563/volya-party-to-call-for-referendum-on-bulgaria-s-exit-from-nato
19. http://www.erstestiftung.org/en/the-smokescreen-of-euroscepticism/
20. https://voiceofeurope.com/2018/10/interview-with-the-bulgarian-trump-we-have-to-unite-to-save-our-countries-from-the-madness-of-current-eu-leaders/