The public turbulence which occurred in Bulgaria twice in 2013 with the two massive waves of street protests has continued in 2014 as well. The sovereign has started to live permanently with the feeling of political and economic crisis.

For less tan five months only the Bulgarian citizens went to the polling stations twice - on May 25, when the elections for European Parliament were held, and later on October 5 during the early Parliamentary elections. Who is on the winning side and who lost? The Bulgarian Socialist Party has undoubtedly lost at these elections. This is the political party which made a series of governmental mistakes and lost some significant figures who joined another leftist formation - the Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV).

As a matter of fact, BSP lost some 250,000 votes, as compared to 2013, although most sociological surveys forecasted a different political picture. The supporters of the Bulgarian Socialist Party continue to declare their support towards this political party, but most of them stayed at home on the day of the elections. GERB also lost from this situation, as it failed to increase its support, as compared to the previous Parliamentary elections in 2013 and received 1.1 million votes again. However, unlike both big parties, all small political formations managed to get the maximum at the latest elections. This was due to the decision of the sovereign who indeed won from this situation. It forced the political elite to make a series of settlements of compromise. It turned out after the early elections that the new 43^rd National Assembly welcomed a record-high number of political parties in Bulgaria’s new democratic history.

Bulgaria has been governed by three whole cabinets in 2014. The left-center cabinet formed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Movement for Rights and Freedom lasted for 14 months. Former Premier Plamen Oresharski handed in his resignation after 405 days of anti-government protests. According to sociological surveys, 70% of the Bulgarian nationals did not show confidence towards the Oresharski cabinet. The negative adjustments towards the country’s development were similar to 70% as well. This was the highest non-confidence rate after the failure of the BSP cabinet back in 1997. The interim cabinet of Premier Blizhnashki calmed the situation down a bit. The third cabinet which was formed after the early Parliamentary elections on October 5 is a rightist one, although one of the cabinet members represents the leftist ABV formation. All other ministers are members of GERB and the Reformist Bloc. The program of the second cabinet headed by Premier Boyko Borissov is also backed by the Patriotic Front and the ABV and was formed after a long period of negotiations. According to the sociological surveys made in December, the confidence towards the current cabinet is similar to the one towards other governments formed in a complicated political environment. The confidence towards the new government is now at 26%, after it marked a 10% growth, as compared to the beginning of November, when the political parties were still negotiating. The optimism of the Bulgarian citizens regarding the country’s development has also seen a slight increase during and after the formation of the new cabinet. This is so, because all Parliamentary elections have a similar effect and always give a credit of confidence to the new government. Now the majority of the people want to see stability in their country, rather than new sharp turns. Bulgaria witnessed a sharp increase of public confidence towards the government in the beginning of the mandate of three cabinets - the cabinet headed by Premier Ivan Kostov in 1997, the one headed by Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 2001 and Boyko Borissov’s first cabinet in 2009. Now we are witnessing a decrease of the social anxiety.

The sovereign reacted wisely to the issue regarding the Corporate Commercial Bank. According to the public opinion, the attack against this financial institution was of political nature and this stand was shared by over half of the Bulgarian nationals. Unfortunately, the Bulgarian citizens remained with the conviction that politicians can do anything they please. The parties formed strange floating majorities during the voting of the CCB issue in plenary hall - GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms against the Reformist Bloc and the Bulgarian Socialist Party. However, this would not be the last time when similar majorities are formed at the National Assembly.

Nature has also put the nation to a series of tests in 2014. The floods, which affected half of the country and took the lives of many Bulgarians, brought many challenges to the sovereign. It turned out that the Bulgarian people show empathy towards human misfortune. However, the nation also raised the issue of the state’s responsibility and the confidence towards the sate institutions. The authorities did not receive the public confidence, although they did their best to deal with the consequences of the calamities and acted in line with the regulations. The lack of confidence towards the authorities became evident when they tried to deal with the refugee flow. The fear of strangers escalated, because it was obvious that the state could not find a permanent solution to the problem. However, the Bulgarian citizens will have to get used to coexisting with the refugees, because this country is about to become an attractive place to live.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov