National Movement for Stability and Progress

The National Movement for Stability and Progress (Bulgarian: Национално движение за стабилност и възход, romanized: Natsionalno dvizhenie za stabilnost i vazhod, abbreviation: NDSV), known as the National Movement Simeon II (Bulgarian: Национално движение „Симеон Втори“, romanized: Natsionalno dvizhenie "Simeon Vtori") until 3 June 2007, is a liberal,[1][2] populist political party in Bulgaria.

National Movement for Stability and Progress
Национално движение за стабилност и възход
AbbreviationNDSV (Bulgarian)
LeaderStanimir Ilchev
FounderSimeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Founded6 April 2001 (2001-04-06)
HeadquartersSofia
Ideology
Political positionCentre[7] to centre-right
European affiliationAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
International affiliationLiberal International
Colors  Yellow
National Assembly
0 / 240
European Parliament
0 / 17
Website
www.ndsv.bg

The party was created as a personal vehicle of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Simeon II), the deposed Tsar, for his successful bid to become Prime Minister of Bulgaria in 2001. Simeon served as prime minister until 2005 and the party remained part of the governing coalition until 2009, when they lost all their seats in the National Assembly.

History

NDSV was founded in April 2001, only 11 weeks ahead of a parliamentary election, after former Tsar Simeon II had announced his intention to become involved in the political life of Bulgaria. He promised to attract foreign investors, reduce taxes and uproot corruption within the first 800 days of his premiership. The movement met with immediate enthusiasm and won 42.7% of the popular vote and 120 out of 240 seats in the 2001 elections. One seat short of an absolute majority, it formed a grand coalition with the conservative Union of Democratic Forces, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, and the ethnic minority party Movement for Rights and Freedoms with Simeon Sakskoburggotski (his official name in Bulgarian since the end of monarchy) becoming Prime Minister. NDSV's popularity decreased markedly when Simeon failed to fulfill his promises within the specified time.[8] However, it was during Simeon's term that Bulgaria entered NATO and prepared the economic and political stability that was prerequisite for the country becoming a member of the European Union in 2007. The NDSV party became a full member of the Liberal International at its Sofia Congress in May 2005.

At the 2005 parliamentary election, NDSV's share of votes dropped to 19.9% and its number of seats in parliament dropped to 53. It did, however, remain in office as the junior partner in a coalition led by the Bulgarian Socialist Party. NDSV member Meglena Kuneva served as Bulgarian EU Commissioner charged with consumer protection in the First Barroso Commission from Bulgaria's entry to the EU in 2007 until 2010. The party changed its name in June 2007, removing the name of the founder and leader and replacing it with "Stability and Progress", but retaining its Bulgarian acronym NDSV. At the European parliamentary election of June 2009 the party gained 7.96 per cent of the votes and took two out of the seventeen seats. However, a month later the party got just 3.01% of votes in the July 2009 parliamentary elections, falling short of the 4% election threshold for representation. The next day, on 6 July, Simeon resigned as NDSV leader.[9] In July 2012 Meglena Kuneva left the party to establish the Bulgaria for Citizens Movement. In the 2013 parliamentary election, the NDSV did not field any candidates. In the 2014 election, it won just 0.24% of the votes while the party decided not to run in the 2017 election.[10] The party did not participate in any of the elections in 2021 for failure to gain the 2,500 signatures required.[11]

Electoral performance

National Assembly
Election Votes  % Seats +/– Rank Government
2001 1,952,513 42.74
120 / 240
 120 1st Coalition
2005 725,314 19.88
53 / 240
 67 2nd Coalition
2009 127,470 3.02
0 / 240
 53 8th Extra-parliamentary
2013 Did not participate
2014 7,917 0.24
0 / 240
 0 17th Extra-parliamentary
2017 Did not participate

European Parliament
Election Votes  % Seats +/– Rank
2007 121,398 6.27
1 / 18
 1 5th
2009 205,146 7.96
2 / 17
2 / 18
(post-Lisbon)		 1 5th
2014[lower-alpha 1] 20,487 0.92
0 / 17
 2 10th
2019 21,315 1.09
0 / 17
 0 8th
  1. Results of the alliance Coalition KOD.

See also

References
  1. Elisabeth Bakke (2010), "Central and East European party systems since 1989", in Sabrina P. Ramet (ed.), Central and Southeast European Politics since 1989, Cambridge University Press, pp. 78–79, ISBN 978-1-139-48750-4
  2. Alfio Cerami (2006). Social Policy in Central and Eastern Europe: The Emergence of a New European Welfare Regime. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 26. ISBN 978-3-8258-9699-7.
  3. Caroline Close (2019). "The liberal family ideology: Distinct, but diverse". In Emilie van Haute; Caroline Close (eds.). Liberal Parties in Europe. Taylor & Francis. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-351-24549-4.
  4. Smilov, Daniel (2013). Bulgaria: Perception and Reality. Dangerous Liaisons. The Brookings Institution. p. 186.
  5. Smilov, Daniel; Jileva, Elena (2009). The politics of Bulgarian citizenship: National identity, democracy and other uses. Citizenship Policies in the New Europe (2nd ed.). Amsterdam University Press. p. 226.
  6. Crampton, R.J. (2007). Bulgaria. The Oxford History of Modern Europe. Oxford University Press. p. 414.
  7. Chary, Frederick B. (2011), The History of Bulgaria, Greenwood, p. 173
  8. Thompson, Wayne C., ed. (2013). "Bulgaria". The World Today Series: Nordic, Central, and Southeastern Europe (13th ed.). Stryker-Post. p. 549.
  9. "Симеон Сакскобургготски подаде оставка" (in Bulgarian). Труд. 2009-07-06. Archived from the original on 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
  10. "НДСВ не участва в пресрочните избори за Народно събание на 26.03.2017" (in Bulgarian). Труд. 2017-03-24. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  11. "Сбогом на НДСВ. Царската партия изгоря за вота". Стандарт Нюз (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2021-11-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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