Maxim and Veneta Behar on the Presidential Elections: Leadership, Political Messages and Bulgaria's Image

November, 2026

What distinguishes a true leader from a politician who simply makes promises? Maxim and Veneta Behar discuss the presidential elections, the lack of clear messages and vision in political campaigns, as well as the role of leadership, communications and business in Bulgaria's future and international image.

Host 1: And now we welcome our first guests. Joining us are communications expert Maxim Behar and his wife Veneta Behar, a leadership expert. Hello and welcome!

Maxim Behar: Good evening and happy holiday, although the day is already coming to an end.

Host 2: Yes, this is one of the most wonderful Bulgarian holidays, although it is not an official one – the Day of the National Awakeners. A question for both of you: Where is the line beyond which political PR turns into ordinary propaganda?

Maxim Behar: There is no such line. Sometimes it is not even visible.

One of the goals of political marketing is to explain specifically, clearly and precisely what a particular candidate would do. That is not propaganda. Propaganda, perhaps, is when messages are filled with empty phrases and meaningless things.

We were just discussing how all these people we watched on our screens today voted for the future. And I ask myself: "Why are they voting for the future?" They should be voting for good things, even better things, to start happening in our lives as early as Monday, as early as tomorrow.

In the past, my business, Public Relations, was very often equated with propaganda. In my opinion, however, the emergence of social media revolutionised the business, and now it is very easy to understand who is lying, who is telling the truth and who is distorting things.

That is why it seems to me that everything is now about communications and nothing more. What matters is how a person communicates, how they demonstrate their charisma, if they have any, how they persuade others and what arguments they use.

This is the most fundamental thing that, unfortunately, I failed to see over the past six months. Of course, I will not comment on names, political parties or political preferences, especially with only one hour remaining until the end of election day.

Host 1: Mrs. Behar, you are a leadership expert. Did you see a leader among the main contenders, one of whom will become Bulgaria's seventh president today? And since today is the Day of the National Awakeners, is there someone among them who will become an awakener of this nation?

Veneta Behar: You know, leaders are created in moments of decision-making and in moments when they stand by those decisions.

It is easy for a person to make a decision about something. It is difficult to consistently defend their vision, their position and their path.

For me, the leaders will still have to prove themselves. Unfortunately, I did not manage to see any true leaders during this campaign. We heard almost no strong messages.

I hope a leader will emerge. I hope a charismatic person will emerge, someone who will stand by their own vision and opinion and have enough character to establish themselves as such.

Host 1: Why didn't we hear any messages, Mr. Behar?

Maxim Behar: Just a few words about leadership. It is very easy to be a leader in words. It is very easy to persuade and make promises.

I have a favourite story about a friend of mine, Niki Nikolov, who owns a large computer company. When he was young, he graduated from the Naval Academy in Varna. During his first voyage on a ship, he would go to the captain every hour and say: "Captain, I'm very good, aren't I? I'm very good!"

At one point, the captain had had enough and told him: "Listen, Nikolov, wait until the first storm comes, and then I'll tell you."

And that is what leadership really is – seeing how you cope during storms, during crises and when making difficult decisions.

Otherwise, promises, cheerful faces, big hugs and meetings with voters are constantly pouring out of television screens and social media.

Many of the candidates were saying: "I'm going to meet the people," which, in my opinion, is a complete anachronism nowadays. Because what does that mean? Aren't you a person yourself? You are a politician, and they are "ordinary people"? That is my favourite expression – "I'm going to meet the people." Wait a minute, what people?

Host 1: But why didn't we hear any messages? There were no memorable statements, at least in my opinion, that would make someone say: "This candidate said this, the other said that." Why were they missing?

Maxim Behar: Because they don't have any.

Over the past two or three weeks, I really had the feeling that we were voting for a Minister of Foreign Affairs rather than a president.

The main topic was the foreign policy situation, the huge mess we are currently facing, the several wars and especially what is happening between Russia and Ukraine.

I expected to hear from the presidential candidates how they view Bulgaria's economy and the development of the market.

Yes, it is true that the president is not the prime minister. The president may not be directly involved in these processes, but that does not mean they should not have an opinion. Because only the development of the market, trade and investment will make our lives better.

Host 1: What else did you not hear?

Veneta Behar: I did not hear their attitude towards business, which is actually the subject closest to my heart.

It is true that the president has no direct involvement in this area, but in reality, business is what moves a country forward. Business is what moves a nation forward.

If we want progress, if we want development, we must look ahead. We must see where business is heading, what is happening, what the investment environment is like, what the investment policy is and what prospects we are offering businesses so that development can take place.

And to return to the topic of messages, throughout the entire campaign I had the feeling that we were witnessing some kind of analytical campaign about past events rather than a campaign about the vision we have and where we are heading.

That was actually what shocked me the most, I would even say.

Host 2: I would like to continue on the subject of leaders because I remember a thought by the writer Vasily Grossman that every era creates leaders. However, the person who becomes a leader is the one who knows how to listen to the era, understand what it wants and fulfil it.

With that in mind, do politicians know how to listen to voters, or do they only know how to talk to them?

Maxim Behar: Rather, they do not know how to listen to voters. Or perhaps they do not have a vision of how to fulfil their promises, because anyone can certainly make all kinds of promises.

It is a fact that business was absent from these campaigns.

But it seems to me that the moment a politician enters their office or some large building and people start coming in and telling them: "You are the greatest! How did you make that decision? That is fantastic!", they begin to lose their sense of direction.

Especially if they lack experience, and in Bulgaria, there is no way we could have gained that much political experience in just 30–35 years.

Then these people begin to lose their understanding of what is happening and where they are. They start looking at themselves in the mirror and liking themselves more and more.

There were no interesting messages. There were many promises, delivered in a way that I do not think would motivate many voters to say: "Aha, this is my candidate because he promised me this and that."

How simple it would have been if the two candidates, now that we are at the runoff and the final stage, had said: "Here are the first ten things I will do when I become president."

The first ten things. A simple task.

Afterwards, it would be possible to see whether they had fulfilled them. There are many examples of this approach in political marketing.

Why didn't this happen in Bulgaria? Probably because politicians do not look that far ahead. They tell themselves: "Right now, what matters to me is winning the campaign." At the same time, they constantly talk about the future and a bright future.

Host 1: And why are big dreams and major projects missing even from the language of politicians? For example, you completed a course at NASA, yet nobody talks about space.

Host 2: Solomon Passy talks about space.

Host 1: But he is not a presidential candidate. There is no discussion about big dreams.

Host 2: Then let me add to Annie's question. The presidential institution, as you noted, has no direct involvement in executive power, but it can demonstrate visionary thinking. That is what people want to see – to understand what will happen to Bulgaria in five or ten years.

Maxim Behar: The president has a direct relationship with executive power because the president can act as a corrective force, regardless of whether they come from the same party.

We have had many such cases. Remember Petar Stoyanov and Ivan Kostov, the phrase "Tell us, Ivan," and all those historic phrases that have become well-known examples.

The term "presidential institution" sounds very general to me. It includes the assistants, the cleaners and everyone else.

The president must have their own opinion and act as a corrective force. When the executive branch says something that is not particularly good for voters, the president must be able to say: "Wait a minute."

We have had such cases with Rosen Plevneliev, with Delyan Peevski and in many other situations.

Host 1: Did you vote?

Maxim Behar: Yes, of course.

Host 1: And did you watch the debate? Because you were not in Bulgaria.

Maxim Behar: Yes, we watched it from our hotel in Dubai.

Host 1: And what mistakes did you notice?

Maxim Behar: What didn't I notice! I did not see anything that would make me say: "These people have prepared themselves."

I am talking about both sides. Naturally, one of the candidates had a much greater advantage because he had spent a long time on television, had been in power for a long time and had people behind him who supported and helped him.

But I was extremely disappointed.

I want to make a brief digression. We have discussed this before here in this studio, with Diana. In 1994, I moderated the first televised political debates in Bulgaria's history.

Host 2: Yes, you have told me that before. I know.

Maxim Behar: Right here, during the elections. I moderated three of the eight debates.

We drew lots in Hacho Boyadzhiev's office, may he rest in peace. I was assigned three debates. Zhan Videnov, Ivan Kostov, Ahmed Dogan and other political leaders were there.

That debate was a hundred thousand times more interesting. Perhaps I am biased, but there were very clear concepts, very clear messages, commitments and even a little sense of humour and playful exchanges.

That is what I missed.

Host 1: And what did you miss from what you saw?

Veneta Behar: I found it extremely sluggish and completely unengaging, with many general phrases, a lot of general terminology and no specifics whatsoever.

It disappointed me greatly. And I am talking about both sides.

Maxim Behar: And one more thing – we were missing people in the studio. We were missing about a hundred students who could react to what was being said or ask questions.

The three of them were just standing there somehow...

Host 2: It was a little sterile, is that what you mean?

Maxim Behar: A little like a wax museum, like wax figures.

Host 2: All right, but you are saying that if this was the case, we were hoping that this runoff would bring more voters to the polls.

Today, voter turnout is slightly higher, but not as high as one would expect in a majoritarian vote to elect a head of state.

How do you explain this low voter turnout?

Maxim Behar: There is no way, if we use the verb "bring out". It sounds a little like we are talking about a herd, doesn't it?

There is no way voters can be motivated to go out and vote, because they are a reflection of the leaders.

There can be more voters when there are strong messages, when there are charismatic leaders, when there is a genuine clash of concepts and visions.

Host 1: But now there is also a clash of concepts and visions concerning Russia and Ukraine. That is not a minor dividing issue.

Maxim Behar: Yes, in foreign policy, and partly in domestic policy as well, of course, because all of this has an impact.

But Bulgaria has education, healthcare, business and the economy, investment policy, relationships between people and the development of villages.

It is true that these things do not depend directly on the president, but the president can have an opinion, can speak about them and can present arguments.

All of that was missing.

Host 1: And can leadership be learned, or are you born a leader?

Veneta Behar: A person is a leader under certain circumstances. Circumstances make you become a leader; they make you stand out as one.

It depends on you how you react in a particular situation. It depends on you how you defend a position. It depends on you how you make people follow you.

What made a very strong impression on me during this debate was that we had two divided camps, and each of these camps was speaking to its own voters.

But the presidential role is, after all, a unifying one. It should bring the nation together.

We heard clear messages from one side directed at its own voters, and from the other side, equally clear messages directed at its own voters.

But there was no cohesion. There were no arguments with which either side could address the opposing voters in order to attract them and turn them, if not into supporters, then at least into followers under certain circumstances.

Host 1: And what does that tell us, Mr. Behar, when you compare the situation with the past and those politicians? Poor material? What is it?

Maxim Behar: Probably weaker preparation. Probably fatigue from so many elections, because we all know how many elections we have gone through, and how many have taken place in your studios, in just the last two or three years.

And, indeed, a lack of leadership, a lack of people who make bold decisions.

I very often say that if your dreams do not frighten you, they are not dreams. They are simply wishes. A dream should frighten you.

You mentioned our NASA training. I went first, and then Veneta convinced me that we should go together. When I said that we should go, my daughter looked at me and said: "Are you crazy? Why would you go to NASA to train as an astronaut?"

It never even occurred to me that this might seem crazy.

That is a personal story from our everyday lives, but there are things that need to happen in the country.

We cannot influence the war between Russia and Ukraine. We cannot influence the war in the Middle East, but we can influence things so that there is greater understanding in Bulgaria about what is important and what is not.

The economy is very important. Investments are very important.

We can beat our chests and have half the country supporting Russia and the other half supporting Ukraine. But if the market does not function, we will live worse and worse.

We will not have better salaries, we will not have better incomes and, most importantly, we will not have the motivation to come home in the evening and say to ourselves: "Today I did this, and I succeeded."

When the six or seven million people living in Bulgaria, and probably another two million abroad, say to themselves: "Today I did my job wonderfully," that is the best kind of voting.

There is no point in going to elections once every four years if you do not vote every day through your work, your ideas and your attitude towards work, if you do not pay good taxes and if you do not pay good salaries.

Here I am speaking a little as a businessman, but it seems to me that this is the most important thing. I hope that whoever becomes president understands this.

If I were president, for example, which I will never be, of course, I would call the ten or so largest employers in Bulgaria every Monday.

I have no involvement with them, but I would pick up the phone and say: "Hello, Petrov, how are you? Do you need anything? Can I help with something?"

Host 1: But you know what would happen afterwards, don't you? What would they accuse him of?

Maxim Behar: There would be nothing to accuse him of. On the contrary, politicians are there to help businesses create this environment.

Nothing would happen if a president called and asked: "Can I help with anything?" "I have no problems." "All right, thank you. Have a good week."

Host 2: Annie is right that Bulgarian society would immediately say that no help comes without something being expected in return. That was the point.

But let us put that aside, because this really is a very good vision of how the presidential institution could operate.

I would like to continue your thoughts with a question for both of you.

Is it possible for a candidate to win an election solely through a negative campaign against their opponent, given that it was presented almost as a choice between peace and war?

Veneta Behar: I think that is exactly what we are seeing at the moment.

What really upsets me is that the discussion was only about the past, negativity and fear.

But in fact, democracy is based on choice. If we have no choice and act out of fear, that is very sad and offers very little hope for a nation.

From a purely human perspective, this deeply upsets and saddens me.

Maxim Behar: Obviously, this demotivates voters, since they did not turn out to vote.

Theoretically, it is possible to win a campaign using only negative messages.

I do not call it "black PR". There is no black PR; there is no such concept. There are lies and there is truth. What we call black PR is actually lies and falsehoods.

Theoretically, it is possible, and there have been cases where campaigns were won solely by creating fear and using negative messages.

But that is very sad and regrettable for democracy, because a leader should deliver positive messages, know how to defend them and offer alternatives, strategies and visions.

Then you do not need a negative campaign.

Incidentally, since 80% of the campaign took place on social media, we all saw that everything there was negative. There were no positive messages.

From time to time, someone in a television studio would dare to say something positive.

But when you read social media from morning till night, you simply say to yourself: "Oh my God!"

Host 1: The two teams are attacking each other as if they were on a battlefield.

Veneta Behar: That is extremely counterproductive.

I think the low voter turnout is partly due to this as well. People are tired of messages that have no substance.

They want to hear something simple and achievable, something that can produce immediate results, and they want to hear something positive.

Nobody wants to live with dark thoughts, negativity and constant discussions about who did what.

Host 1: At the same time, we saw the campaign of one of the candidates, which was more positive. He played the piano, had more relaxed messages, kneaded bread and so on. But then ridicule and mockery began.

So where is the line?

Maxim Behar: That was very naive. That was not positive.

Host 2: All right, then let me ask you something else that falls within your area of expertise.

How is Bulgaria's positive image built? When you are abroad and interact with your business partners, what do they say about us, considering that we constantly speak negatively? Look at what is written on social media – we have portrayed ourselves as almost darker than the devil.

Maxim Behar: Veni can tell you a story about something that happened to us at the base in Huntsville.

Veneta Behar: Actually, I will tell you two stories.

Many years ago, when I first went to France, nobody knew where Bulgaria was. Whenever I said I was from Bulgaria, everyone looked at me strangely.

It was almost as if they were wondering why I was dressed properly and why I looked like a normal person.

It made me very sad, and I wondered how I could get around that attitude.

I started explaining: "You know Stoichkov, don't you? Bulgaria, the sea, Sunny Beach..." At one point, I realised that this simply did not work. Nobody was listening to me.

And the moment I started saying, "Bulgaria is there, next to Greece and Turkey," things changed.

For the French, Greece has very positive associations. Suddenly, Bulgaria acquired a completely different aura.

Bulgaria is there, next to Greece, which means it is warm, there is good food, nice people, smiling people and so on.

For many years, that was how I introduced myself, and people remembered me in a positive way.

As for the situation Maxim mentioned, it was our first day in Huntsville, Alabama, for our NASA training.

We were heading to our first session, where we were supposed to receive our suits and be shown what we would be doing.

We were walking down a corridor, and the person leading us, a young engineer around 25 or 26 years old, heard that we were speaking with an accent.

Everyone else was American, with different American accents, and suddenly he heard an unfamiliar accent and turned to us:

"And where are you from?"

I took a breath and said: "Bulgaria."

I was already prepared to continue explaining that it was next to Greece and Turkey.

And at that moment, the young man stopped the entire group, turned around and said:

"But you have amazing mathematicians! You have amazing scientists! You have amazing physicists!"

That left me speechless because I did not know what to say next.

It was the first time something like that had happened to me. I have spent most of my life abroad, and for the first time, someone reacted that way when they heard I was from Bulgaria.

I felt as if I were floating on a pink cloud.

Maxim Behar: Things are changing.

There are two elements. The first is that it takes time. It really takes time.

We have had 35 years of democracy. There are countries with centuries-old traditions that are accustomed to elections, political campaigns and different opinions.

It takes time, and that time must pass.

The second element is that we really need leaders. Time must produce good leaders in Bulgaria, and I expect that to happen very soon.

Because we have had leaders as presidents. I do not want to mention names, because everyone has their own preferences, but we have had very good presidents in the past.

I hope that whoever wins today will be an even better president than their predecessors.

But Bulgaria, as Niki also said, must be presented better and better abroad.

And let me tell you, people who come to Bulgaria on holiday, or the Americans we meet, do not think at all about which side Bulgaria is on in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Whether Bulgaria supports one side or the other, whether it is neutral – they are not interested in that at all.

What interests them are the Bulgarians who have succeeded. People they can recognise, such as Stoichkov, Berbatov, Sonya Yoncheva and many others.

To know, for example, that John Atanasoff is the inventor of the modern computer.

If we manage, as a country – and this is more the responsibility of the government rather than the president – to tell these stories abroad as often and as positively as possible, this could attract the attention of potential investors and tourists.

They should say to themselves: "Aha, Bulgaria!"

But that requires time and action.

I hope that whoever becomes president will manage, and I am putting this in very big quotation marks, to "sell" Bulgaria abroad, so that when people hear about our country, they will not ask where it is located.

And as I very often say, when we go out with friends somewhere abroad and people ask them where they are from, they say: "Bulgaria."

And I tell them: "Not like that! Say it – Bulgaria!"

Rising intonation is important. It creates a completely different impression.

Host 1: Thank you very much. So we should not say "Bulgaria, next to Greece," right?

Maxim Behar: No, they should say "Greece, there, next to Bulgaria."

Host 2: Thank you very much!

Maxim Behar: I wish you success! You have a long programme ahead of you, and I am sure it will be interesting. You are making fantastic television, congratulations!

Цялото интервю можете да гледате тук: https://www.m3bg.com/bg/video/140/maksim-i-veneta-behar-za-prezidentskite-izbori:-liderstvoto-politicheskite-poslaniia-i-imidja-na-balgariia