Volya Movement () is a

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishm ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. Before 2016, it was known variously as Today and Liberal Alliance. The party was established by Bulgarian businessman Veselin Mareshki, ostensibly on principles of

anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measur ...

and

anti-elitism Elitism is the notion that individuals who form an elite — a select group with desirable qualities such as intellect, wealth, power, physical attractiveness, notability, special skills, experience, lineage — are more likely to be constr ...

History

Volya was originally founded by Veselin Mareshki on July 15, 2007, under the name Liberal Alliance. Following a brief stint as the Dnes party, the name was changed on November 28, 2016, to Volya. In the

2017 Bulgarian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 26 March 2017. They had originally been scheduled for 2018 at the end of the four-year term of the National Assembly. However, following the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the fai ...

s, Volya won 12 seats in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. After negotiations, Volya agreed to

support Support may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Supporting character * Support (art), a solid surface upon which a painting is executed Business and finance * Support (technical analysis) * Child support * Customer support * Income Su ...

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

between

GERB GERB, an acronym for Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (), is a conservative center-right populist political party which was the ruling party of Bulgaria during the periods between 2009–2013, 2014-2021, 2025-present and was suppor ...

and United Patriots. In 2018, Volya joined the

Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom Patriots.eu (), formerly known as the Identity and Democracy Party (ID or ID Party) and the Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF), is a nationalist, right-wing populist and Eurosceptic European political party founded in 2014. ...

, now referred to as the Identity and Democracy Party. The

European political party A European political party, formerly known as a political party at European levelArticle 10.4 of the 2007 Treaty on European Union states that "political parties at European level contribute to forming European political awareness" and Regul ...

organizes nationalist parties across Europe and includes the French

National Rally The National Rally (, , RN), known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018 (, , FN), is a French far-right politics, far-right political party, described as right-wing populist and French nationalism, nationalist. It is the single largest Nat ...

, Italian

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

, and

Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five part ...

. Volya took part in the

2019 European Parliament election in Bulgaria The election of the List of members of the European Parliament for Bulgaria, 2019–24, 5th Member of the European Parliament, delegation from Bulgaria to the European Parliament was held on 26 May 2019. All seats were up for election. The count ...

as a member of the Volya-The Bulgarian Patriots coalition. The coalition also included the

Agrarian Union "Aleksandar Stamboliyski" The Agrarian Union "Aleksandar Stamboliyski" (, ZS-AS), is an agrarian political party in Bulgaria. It was founded in 1993 by members of the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union. Until 2005 it was known as the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union "Al ...

, the People's Party for Freedom and Dignity, and the United Social Democrats. Mareshki topped the coalition list and stated he would decide whether to keep his seat if elected. The coalition hoped to gain two seats but failed to gain any, finishing in 6th place. Ahead of the second 2021 Bulgarian parliamentary election, Volya formed an electoral alliance with the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria. and the IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement.

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. Volya advocates for Bulgarian withdrawal from

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, which it views as being economically draining on the Bulgarian people whilst providing no benefits to national security. Despite Veselin Mareshki's calls for a "strong united Europe," the party has been described as generally

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

. The Volya party 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." The party recognizes Bulgaria's decreasing birth rate, but it opposes increasing immigration into Bulgaria, favoring instead state programs that will promote young families to have more children.

Election results

Statistics

References

{{Political parties in Bulgaria Political parties established in 2007 2007 establishments in Bulgaria Nationalist parties in Bulgaria Right-wing populist parties Right-wing populism in Bulgaria Right-wing parties in Europe