UDF leader Rumen Hristov told state TV the massive turnout caught everyone off guard, but the coalition budget was the only workable option until unions and employers complained enough to force changes. He said opposition parties can organize demonstrations all they want, but PP-DB can't expect their proposals to get rubber-stamped without winning elections first. Hristov thinks the real issue is impatience from opposition groups trying to clear a path for President Rumen Radev, who'll jump into early election races if the government collapses.
When reporters pressed him about Interior Minister Daniel Mitov's whereabouts during the chaos, Hristov deflected by saying he doesn't micromanage police deployments, and his party still backs...
Protesters in Sofia and other Bulgarian cities went off about the government's euro-based budget proposal right before the country switches to the single currency next month. Demonstrators threw rocks and fireworks at ruling party offices after cops set up barriers, and the minority government already said they'd redo the whole thing to buy time for more talks with unions and opposition groups.
Opposition crews are mad about higher social security payments and dividend taxes funding bigger government spending, plus the usual corruption complaints. Nearly half the country hates the euro switch anyway since they think it'll mess with sovereignty and give retailers an excuse to jack up prices when converting from the lev.
The ECB...
Nikolay Denkov from PP-DB told BTV the massive demonstration was about government dishonesty and corruption, calling it the biggest turnout in 25 years. He separated the peaceful march from the violence that kicked off after 10 pm, saying his parliamentary group had zero connection to the agitators who trashed stuff. Denkov announced they're demanding the government step down immediately.
He warned that more protests will happen if Borisov keeps flip-flopping on whether the 2026 budget is actually withdrawn or just paused, and people are demanding bigger changes than what's being offered. Multiple organizations already told officials how to fix the budget proposal.
Denkov pointed out that specialized police units exist specifically to...
Former National Police chief Vasil Vassilev told BTV that authorities knew the protest would draw massive crowds and that violent groups would show up looking to fight cops, but officers still let things get out of hand. He said the troublemakers who smashed up DPS-NN and GERB offices were hardcore anti-law types mixed with football hooligans, and police can't really stop provocateurs once they start wilding out.
Vassilev pointed out that German and French cops push boundaries when handling protests, but Bulgarian police don't have clear guidelines on how far they can go. He acknowledged the anger was real since people were pissed about all the political chaos.
Ivaylo Mirchev from We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria accused the police and the ruling coalition of deliberately pulling security during massive protests in Sofia, which let agitators start fights near the DPS-Novo Nachalo headquarters on Vrabcha Street. He called both the interior minister and Boyko Borisov during the march when he noticed zero cops anywhere, but neither responded nor seemed aware of what was happening. Mirchev said authorities intentionally removed protection to trash the biggest demonstration in 35 years, and he reported sketchy masked groups lurking around National Stadium before things went south.
The MP also suspects sabotage after a substation conveniently failed and cut power downtown, saying the...
The government pulled back its 2026 budget proposal after protests hit the streets, but officials say the process is just on pause until social partners and the state can hash out a deal. GERB's leader signaled he might give ground on dividend taxes and insurance caps, which employers have been pushing to drop alongside pension contribution hikes.
Unions want a 10 percent pay bump for underfunded state workers instead of the 5 percent originally floated. Another round of talks is coming up where everyone will try to find some middle-ground compromise that doesn't piss off either side completely.
Massive crowds hit the streets in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, and Burgas last night, demanding the government pull back its 2026 budget proposal. The capital saw the biggest turnout with protesters camping outside government buildings for hours, yelling at officials to step down.
Things got messy when groups broke off and rolled up to the GERB party office and then the DPS-New Beginning headquarters, where stuff got torched and cop cars got wrecked. Sofia police grabbed over 10 people after trash bins went up in flames and one GERB location got hit. Opposition parties from We Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria are saying the violence was staged by troublemakers trying to make the whole protest look bad.
A Bulgarian opposition leader is calling out what he thinks was a staged setup at recent anti-government rallies across Sofia and other major cities. The co-chair claims authorities deliberately left protesters unprotected near a monument, allowed agitators to cause chaos, and even cut power to entire neighborhoods to create cover for the mayhem. He suspects the ruling party orchestrated the whole thing to discredit the massive turnout demanding resignations.
The guy says police were nowhere to be found when troublemakers showed up, and he personally tried tracking down officers without success. Two other opposition figures are demanding the interior minister step down over the botched response. The protests drew huge crowds furious...
A prosecutor from Chipinge got slapped with a 12-month sentence for messing with a rape victim's statement to help out the accused rapist. The regional prosecutor and a defense attorney allegedly rewrote the facts to claim the 13-year-old girl and her uncle weren't related and had consensual relations, when the original police reports clearly stated the uncle forced himself on his niece at her home.
The magistrate in Mutare suspended part of the jail time and converted the rest to community service at a local hospital. Anti-corruption cops arrested both legal professionals for obstructing justice, but the defense lawyer walked after being acquitted. The uncle ended up pleading guilty to a lesser charge of having relations with a minor...
