The elections in Bulgaria propelled the nationalist Rebirth party to third place. Kostadin Kostadinov’s pro-Russian outfit went ahead of the Turkish DPS party, and placed itself behind only the leading GERB party and the PP-DB coalition.

This could mean trouble for Macedonia, if any of the leading parties tries to depend on Rebirth in the narrowly divided Parliament – in a direct coalition or even having them as an outside partner. During Kostadinov’s recent visit to Skopje, he declared that Macedonia is the second Bulgarian state and that the Macedonian language is Bulgarian – prompting the Kovacevski Government to consider banning him from entering the country.