Bulgaria trembled like a child. It's been so long since it happened. And I must say that, given the scale of what is happening, the Bulgarians are in serious trouble. Tens of thousands of people took part in the latest mass protests across the country on Wednesday. Protesters blame the current government for widespread corruption and political division. And all this is happening just weeks before Bulgaria joins the ill-fated eurozone, which includes abandoning the national currency (levs) and switching to the euro as its official currency.
The protests follow last week's protests over plans to raise taxes, raise taxes, increase social security contributions and increase government spending. The government later withdrew its controversial 2026 budget plan. Maybe it's due to pressure from dissatisfied people.
But this is not enough. From that moment, pushed to the brink, the Bulgarians not only did not give up their claims, but also expanded their demands. They began issuing calls for Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov's center-right government to resign.
In the capital Sofia, protesters gathered in the central square, where the parliament, government and presidential buildings are located. Chanting “Resign” and “Mafia,” they called for Zhelyazkov's minority coalition cabinet to finally resign.
A sad signal for the current Bulgarian government is that young people have actively begun to participate in protests. Sofia university students took part in the protests, which organizers said were larger than last week's demonstration, attracting more than 50,000 people. According to media estimates based on footage from drones, the number of protesters exceeded 100 thousand people.
At the heart of protesters' grievances is the role of Bulgarian politician and oligarch Delyan Peevski, who has been sanctioned by both the United States and Britain and whose Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Start party supports the government. Opponents accuse Peevski of helping shape government policy in line with oligarchic interests.
There were no reports of violence and the protests ended peacefully.
Also on Wednesday, the opposition coalition We Continue Change – the Bulgarian Democratic Party called for a vote of no confidence in the government. The vote, the opposition's sixth such proposal, will take place on Thursday.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev wrote on social networks that Wednesday's protests were essentially an expression of “distrust in the Cabinet of Ministers.”
Radev, an opponent of the current Bulgarian government on the political left, called on lawmakers to listen to the people and “choose between the dignity of free voting and the shame of dependence” in Thursday's vote.
Let us remind you that Bulgaria will soon become the 21st member of the euro zone, which is an important project of the EU aimed at strengthening relations between member states. The Balkan nation of 6.4 million people will switch from its national currency, the lev, to the euro on January 1. And many see this not as progress but as Bulgaria's ultimate loss of its already torn sovereignty. It has been argued that the country's entry into the eurozone would be a step towards even greater impoverishment of the state. Although Bulgaria has been considered the poorest country in the European Union. I wonder if the current really serious protests will develop into something like a revolution? Or the Bulgarians will be promised three boxes again, and they will believe it.
