WHEN PETER MAGYAR beat Viktor Orban(维克托·欧尔班，匈牙利前总理) in Hungary’s election in April, most European leaders were relieved. “For the first time in years, there are no Russians in the room(隐喻俄罗斯在欧盟内部的影响力),” joked Donald Tusk(唐纳德·图斯克，波兰总理), Poland’s prime minister, at a European Union summit that month. Look to the south-east, however, and they have less to cheer. On May 8th Rumen Radev, a Russia-friendly(亲俄的) populist(民粹主义者), was sworn in(宣誓就职) as Bulgaria’s prime minister after winning an election in late April. On May 5th Romania’s liberal prime minister had been forced out in a no-confidence motion(不信任动议) that was backed by both the centre-left(中左翼) and a rising nationalist-right(民族主义右翼) party.
当彼得·毛焦尔在匈牙利四月的选举中击败欧尔班时，大多数欧洲领导人松了一口气。“这是多年来第一次，房间里没有俄罗斯人了，”波兰总理唐纳德·图斯克在那个月的欧盟峰会上开玩笑说。然而，看向东南欧，他们没什么值得高兴的。5月8日，亲俄民粹主义者鲁门·拉德夫在四月底的选举获胜后宣誓就任保加利亚总理。5月5日，罗马尼亚的自由派总理在一次不信任动议中被赶下台，该动议得到了中左翼和一个新兴的民族主义右翼政党的支持。
Might Bulgaria and Romania replace Hungary as the EU’s awkward squad(麻烦群体，捣蛋分子)? Economic malaise(经济萎靡) plagues(困扰，折磨) both countries. Last year prices rose by(价格上涨了（幅度）) 3.5% in Bulgaria and 6.8% in Romania, above the EU average of 2.5%. Growth is strong in Bulgaria, but Romania’s GDP(国内生产总值) was 1.7% lower in the first quarter than in the same period last year. This pushes voters towards populists.
保加利亚和罗马尼亚是否会取代匈牙利成为欧盟的'麻烦群体'？经济萎靡困扰着两国。去年保加利亚物价上涨3.5%，罗马尼亚上涨6.8%，高于欧盟2.5%的平均水平。保加利亚增长强劲，但罗马尼亚第一季度GDP比上年同期下降1.7%。这促使选民转向民粹主义者。
Mr Radev, a former air-force commander(空军指挥官), had served since 2017 as president, a mostly ceremonial role(礼仪性角色). He campaigned for prime minister on an anti-graft(反腐的) platform, vowing to dismantle(拆除，废除) Bulgaria’s “oligarchic model of governance(寡头治理模式)” and restore judicial independence(司法独立). He linked the country’s corruption, among the worst in the EU according to Transparency International, a Berlin-based monitor, to its income inequality(收入不平等), the highest in the bloc.
拉德夫先生曾是空军指挥官，自2017年起担任总统，这一职位主要是礼仪性的。他竞选总理时提出反腐败纲领，誓言要拆除保加利亚的'寡头治理模式'并恢复司法独立。他将该国腐败（据总部位于柏林的监测机构透明国际称，是欧盟最严重的之一）与其收入不平等（欧盟最高）联系起来。