Bulgaria holds consultations for new government
The president, Rumen Radev, is holding consultations with parties, but if they refuse or fail to form the government, he will appoint an interim government and call a snap election.
Bulgaria, a NATO member state, has held seven national elections in the past four years as consecutive governments failed to keep control of a fractured parliament.
Kalina Yurukova, 21-year-old student, said: “If you steal constantly, you must think you are above everyone else. And for people who are arrogant and have not a shred of shame, I cannot have respect or associate myself with them.”
Earlier this month, the government withdrew its 2026 budget plan, the first drafted in euros, due to the mass protests. Opposition parties and other organisations said they were protesting against plans to hike social security contributions and taxes on dividends to finance higher state spending.
