Morality, Unity, Honour (), also known simply as MECh (, ) is a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

Bulgarian political party formed in February 2024 by former Minister of Youth and Sports and then-MP Radostin Vasilev. The party stands on a hard

anti-establishment An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958 by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...

and

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 ...

platform, promising to fight organised crime and restore the rule of law in the country. It also advocates for traditional family values, while opposing the

LGBT community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ people, LGBTQ individuals united by LGBTQ culture, a common culture and LGBTQ movements, social movements. These Community, comm ...

, a

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 ...

approach to Bulgaria's membership in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, and being accused of being pro-Russian.

History

Background and foundation

Morality, Unity, Honour was officially registered as a political party on 9 February 2024, after its founder, Radostin Vasilev, launched its platform in the fall of 2023. Vasilev, formerly a member of the

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and

We Continue the Change We Continue the Change (; PP), sometimes translated as Change Continues, is a Centrism, centrist, anti-corruption List of political parties in Bulgaria, political party and formerly an electoral alliance in Bulgaria led by Kiril Petkov and Asen Va ...

parties, had left the latter in May 2023 following a wiretapping scandal involving him. On 21 May the party held a national video conference with about 50 people participating where it discussed the opportunity of forming a government in a coalition with GERB—SDS. As the conference was running late at night, Vasilev proceeded to record it and, to his words, go to bed. The following day he leaked the recording to the press, claiming he has lost confidence in party leaders Kiril Petkov and Asen Vasilev, who, unaware of being recorded, can be heard making controversial statements on multiple occasions in the tape. While the scandal stalled government talks, they concluded in the formation of the Denkov Government. As a result, Vasilev declared his independence from the PP-DB group 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 ...

and served as MP until the dissolution of the 49th National Assembly, where he would actively criticize the government and use his position to increase the popularity of his newly formed party.

2024 October Elections & Entrance into Parliament

Following the October 2024 Bulgarian parliamentary election, MECh entered the Bulgarian National Assembly. Following the parties election result, the parties founder and leader, Radostin Vasilev, called for the formation of an "anti-GERB and DPS" majority within the parliament, in order to pass anti-corruption legislation. He further lamented that MECh's main demand if such a majority was formed was that the Minister of Interior be selected from MECh, with Vasilev presenting himself as a potential candidate. MECh were one of the few parties in the Bulgarian parliament that openly called for the full annulment of the results of the October parliamentary elections. It has worked closely with Velichie and Revival in the

51st National Assembly of Bulgaria The Fifty First National Assembly () is a convocation of the National Assembly of Bulgaria, formed according to the results of the October 2024 Bulgarian parliamentary election, snap parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, held on 27 October 2024. ...

as opposition.

Political positions

Election results

National Assembly

European Parliament

References

{{Bulgarian political parties Political parties in Bulgaria Anti-corruption parties Conservative parties in Bulgaria Right-wing populism in Bulgaria 2024 establishments in Bulgaria Political parties established in 2024