EU salience theories

Bulgaria is so far the only member-state that is reproducing its European Parliament elections results in a third consecutive European election after 2009, both in terms of turnout and in terms of seats distribution among the major political actors, regardless of the variety of crises that have hit the EU since. The paper introduces its own analytical model that re-explores both the SOE and EU sali- ence theories in order to explain the different types of electoral strategies put in place by political actors. The paper is built on a comparative approach exploring data from previous EP elections in Bulgaria.