[2] Podkrepa subsequently organized strikes (which were later joined in by CITUB for separate reasons) and contributed to the pressure that eventually caused Andrey Lukanov to resign.

In the subsequent development of the trade union system in the country, CITUB solidified its role as Bulgaria's leading syndicate, consistently beating out Podkrepa in membership numbers through the years.

[4] With Podkrepa having moved away from its rightist roots, it reconciled with CITUB and came to openly cooperate with the Socialist-led government elected in 2005, which it continued to support through to 2009.

The unions subsequently criticised each other, with a senior Podkrepa figure stating that they were "people that never moved their ass to go to a protest" and compared a proposed increase in overtime in Bulgaria to measures to policies taken by Viktor Orbán in Hungary.

[8] By this point the union had changed so much since its foundation, that a new generation of leading figures such as Podkrepa's Economics Expert and MEP candidate Vanya Grigorova defined herself as leftist and viewed the government as rightist.