A political outsider suspected of pro-Kremlin leanings and elected despite the best recommendations of the establishment: it’s not just the US where this is the new norm. Over the weekend Bulgaria elected Rumen Radev, a former air force commander, as its new president; he’s called for fewer sanctions on Russia and says that being pro-European doesn’t mean being anti-Russian. It’s a trend facing several states on Europe’s eastern flank, with Moldova’s new president seeking warmer ties to Moscow and the new Estonian coalition, which includes the Centre party with its ties to Vladimir Putin’s United Russia.

Bulgarian commissioner-designate Rumiana Jeleva flopped at a hearing in the European Parliament and abandoned her candidacy. That was a heavy blow to the national pride, the country's image, the recently installed center-right government and last, but not least the European People's Party.