“Protests in Bulgaria target the ruling parties, election system, judiciary, chief prosecutor, corruption, and more”—Political Analyst Georgi Harizanov

Georgi Harizanov is a Bulgarian political analyst, commenting on all topics in local and international policy. He is the CEO of the Institute for Right-Wing Politics and former CEO of Euronews Bulgaria.

We talk about the mass protests in Sofia and other Bulgarian cities in recent weeks, which have led to the prime minister’s resignation. 

What is the cause of the mass demonstrations in Bulgaria?

Well, the current ones are far more complicated than they were a month ago. The protests started as a wave of civil unrest against the proposed 2026 budget, which was withdrawn and cancelled as a result. There were proposals for increases in some taxes and health contributions, along with higher public expenses and some unnecessary public spending, and the people were rightfully outraged. Since the first major protest, the ‘budget’ demands have outgrown, and they have developed and evolved, and now it has turned into much more complicated civil unrest against the ruling parties, the election system, the judiciary, the chief prosecutor, corruption, and more. To say it briefly, the youngsters in the protest don’t like the current state of Bulgaria and demand changes. Now, what these changes must be and who is best prepared to make them is a question with multiple different answers within the protest, but I guess this is the beauty of pluralism and democracy. 

The media points to pro-European parties as the organizers of these protests. Is this true, or is there more to it? 

It is not that simple. Yes, the leading organizing coalition, PP-DB, is openly pro-European, but some of the other ones are not. Even more, some of them are aggressively anti-European, but they have enthusiastically joined the protest simply because they are part of the opposition, not of the government. The major ruling party, GERB (member of the EPP), though, is also a pro-European party and has proven that stance in multiple governments and parliaments. So, this is definitely not some ‘pro-European opposition against the anti-European rulers’ scenario. The government that just resigned has secured the acceptance of Bulgaria in the euro zone and the Schengen mechanism, so, looking at it just from the pro-European perspective, there are no reasons for anger or protests. But, as I said, this is not the case anyway. It is much more complicated now.

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov has announced the resignation of his three-party government. What will happen now?

There were public consultations between the president and the parliamentary parties last week [ed. note: the week before Christmas]; this is the constitutional procedure, and since there is no chance or will for a new government within this parliament, the president will announce general elections. He stated that the elections and their date will be appointed at the beginning of next year, so I guess they will be at the end of March 2026. The president will appoint a caretaker government until the elections, and because of the last changes in our constitution, he is now able to choose the new prime minister from a short list of public servants, some of whom have already declared that they will not accept such a proposal, and that they are not willing to step into the caretaker prime minister’s position. So the caretaking government is a challenge for the president, and the whole society is nervously waiting to see how the story unfolds. There were suspicions and fears being raised that there might be a shift in Bulgaria’s foreign policy and geopolitical positioning, as the president is openly pro-Russian, but I guess the current shortlist of potential prime ministers is providing a constitutional mechanism of checks and balances.         

If elections are held, they would be the eighth in the last five years. Could there be real political change, or will the situation remain unstable?

The current polls are not supporting the thesis of a big change. The ruling party remains the leading one, so I guess the big question is what the next coalitions will be, not which parties will succeed in getting elected in the next parliament. Now they are nine, and after the next elections, at least from what I see today, they will be eight at least. The parliament, the voters, and the society are all divided, fragmented, and radicalized into small groups of hardcore supporters. Hence, the low activity—around 30%—in the elections. People seem to be more and more disappointed with politics and the politicians, and only the hardcore supporters of the close circles are willing to cast their vote.

Bulgaria also has a continuing problem with corporate or organized—or bought—votes, because of which one of the main demands of the last protest was ‘fair elections.’ I am curious to see how this problem will be addressed and/or solved by the current political elite, as it has been a consistent and resilient one throughout the last decades. And while the pollsters say it has no influence on the overall election results, the media publications and the social media activities are making society more and more nervous about violations and fraud. Even if they are seemingly small and irrelevant.  

In your opinion, what would be the best possible outcome of these elections?

It is a wish, not a forecast: I hope we elect a parliament capable of creating a pro-European government with conservative fiscal and monetary policy, which will continue the pro-European policy of Bulgaria and will cut expenses, lower taxes, protect the borders, and protect our culture, tradition, and religion. To be honest, the chances are not pretty high, and I think that the period of political insecurity and incapability will continue for some time. We know our leaders and what they are capable of, so I am not an optimist about forming a right-wing government and the execution of some unpopular but very needed reforms. These require a large majority in parliament, and the current polls are not showing such a majority coming soon. It is rather impossible to elect a government like this and provide the legislation needed in a nine-party parliament with a lot of left, center, and populist movements in it. 

I hope the politicians will manage to form a working conservative government despite the election results—not because of them. And I hope that in the meantime, no damage will be done to our country from anti-European and pro-Russian local actors. Unfortunately, we have plenty of these. The best scenario, getting back to the question, is for all of them to stay out of the government and remain an opposition, as loud and annoying as they are. 

What structural problems does Bulgaria need to resolve in order to emerge from this long period of instability?

Well, this is a difficult one. The current parties look somewhat tired and weakened, and worn out, more or less, but there are no new players on the field and certainly not some winning ones. All the current actors, despite the serious achievements by some of them, carry a lot of negative load and history, and forming a sustainable, widely supported government gets more difficult by the day. Some say that the president might start a new party and change the status quo, but I remain skeptical about that option. Sooner or later, a generational shift will occur, and many of the current problems will disappear with it, but we had our bad experiences with amateur youth and populist ‘saviors,’ and maybe that is why, in general, the Bulgarian society sticks to the current parties despite their flaws and weaknesses and conflicts. If electing the same people again and again is a structural problem, and I don’t think it is, then how can we solve it without hurting democracy and the freedom to choose? 

All the reforms in the last five years—constitutional, judicial, electoral, etc.—were labeled as a failure, so I guess we tried all the tricks in the books. One thing is sure: The election activity is tragically low, and if it is somehow raised, and more people exercise their right to vote, especially the young ones, the instability might be over with. The low activity and the multiple parties, most of them severe political enemies, are killers of trust. And one can’t rule and/or solve structural problems without trust and wide approval. We see more Western democracies suffering from the same issues and societal tensions. Bulgaria, unfortunately, is not an exception. I hope we will be able to solve the puzzle and confidently move ahead, and, certainly, I hope that more people will vote for the right-wing parties so we can once and for all get rid of the post-Soviet leftist mentality and speed up our growth and development. Bulgaria deserves that. Europe and NATO certainly deserve a loyal and reliable member, too. We remain hopeful for the best and continue working for it. And I hope we will achieve it.