On February 21st the Bulgarian parliament accepted the resignation of the government in the wake of a three week long bloody protest against current austerity policies that have seen electricity cost clime over 13% in the last six months. Mismanagement and corruption, including accusations of a proposed electrical board commissioner were also points of the protest. While the austerity policies have hit the weak middle class in the country they have enabled the government to avoid asking for a financial bail-out. A caretaker government will be appointed and elections will be held in April or May. In the meantime, the contract with a Czech electrical firm, which is one of the three main power suppliers in the country, will be reviewed.
Protester's chants of "No parties!" have underlined the public discontent in the current political system. Price fixing by the electrical firms have squeezed people on fixed incomes who now have a power bill in excess of their monthly funds. Protesters have specific demands that would promote government openness: cancellation of electricity contracts and nationalization of future ones, declassification and revision of all privatization contracts over the last 24 years, an end to the privatization process, formation of a constituent assembly to revise the constitution with specific measures to move the legislature closer to the people. Bulgaria is just the latest western country to feel pressure from common citizens since the 2008 financial crisis.
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