The Bulgarian political environment is still reeling from an unprecedented number of protests in the country, which have compelled the government to reverse its policies in a quite dramatic fashion. The country’s center-right government is struggling with protests of an unprecedented magnitude in size and scope, as these have become the largest protests in the past decade. People from different towns of the country have aired their grievances in quite peaceful protests attended by tens of thousands of people.
Massive protests led to the government budget pull-out
The center-right government in Bulgaria has been forced to pull back a contentious budget plan for 2026, amidst a series of protests that were led by members of Generation Z this past week. The largest of these rallies saw between 50,000 and 100,000 people take to the streets of Sofia, with minimal disruption as protests were peaceful all day.
The demonstrators were against a budget that would raise taxes and contributions in the private sector, but at the same time, spending would rise for the public sector. The demonstrators were also demanding the resignation of the ruling political party, with slogans such as “Generation Z is coming,” “Resignation,” and “Mafia out.” The demonstrators were frustrated with some of the most prominent political figures who are known to be pulling the strings in the country. These people are media mogul Delyan Peevski and GERB leader Boyko Borissov.
Ivaylo Mirchev, a member of Make Changes – Democratic Bulgaria, an opposition coalition, said that “Bulgaria has awakened”, as our government has admitted defeat. The country’s youngest protesters are determined to see their own future, as they refuse to accept compromises. There has never been a comparable energy in Bulgarian political history for so many years. Nobody expected that our government would collapse due to their own greed and arrogance.
New budget proposal appears in preparation for euro adoption
Bulgaria’s new draft budget for 2026 foresees a deficit of 3% of GDP, or 3.65 billion euros in 2023, followed by a decrease to 2.8% of GDP in 2027 and 2.4% of GDP in 2028. This comes as Bulgaria prepares to join the euro zone as of January 1, with about half of all Bulgarians being opposed to this monetary policy change due to concerns over inflation. Bulgarian society has faced Russian disinformation campaigns in support of a single currency adoption, further complicating this transition.
This unrest has come at a rather delicate time when the country has nearly completed all the requirements for inclusion in the euro zone. The timing of this unrest, coupled with the adoption of the euro, has further pushed government officials to walk a tightrope between being financially prudent and responding to popular demands. Leaders of the opposition have challenged the current government’s governance model.
Political crisis worsens in the face of economic uncertainties
A group of rioters with their faces masked, who were not part of the initial protests, threw firecrackers and bottles at police, burned garbage bins, and damaged police cars. This was, however, a contained event and did not in any way typify the peaceful nature of the protests. This is the greatest number of protests that Bulgaria has experienced since 2013, when protests erupted over a political nominee for a position as a spy chief, named Delyan Peevski.
The Bulgarian government’s move to pull back its budget proposal has proven to be a major victory for political activism in Bulgaria. This has shown that there are major concerns among Bulgarian citizens over their economic policies, which prioritize development in the public rather than the private sectors. Bulgaria, as it prepares for a major milestone in adopting the Euro, has found itself faced with a tough challenge in meeting European Union and domestic demands.
