This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/world/europe/bulgarian-government-is-reported-set-to-resign.html
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Bulgarian Prime Minister Submits Resignation | Bulgarian Prime Minister Submits Resignation |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Prime Minister Boiko Borisov of Bulgaria submitted his government’s resignation on Wednesday after a tumultuous week of public anger over rising electricity prices, corruption and austerity measures that ignited mass protests and led to bloody clashes with the police on Tuesday night. | Prime Minister Boiko Borisov of Bulgaria submitted his government’s resignation on Wednesday after a tumultuous week of public anger over rising electricity prices, corruption and austerity measures that ignited mass protests and led to bloody clashes with the police on Tuesday night. |
| The speaker of the Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, said that she had received the official letter of resignation and but that it would not take effect until legislators voted on it Thursday. | The speaker of the Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, said that she had received the official letter of resignation and but that it would not take effect until legislators voted on it Thursday. |
| The protests were triggered by electricity price increases and corruption scandals, including one over the nominee to head the state electricity regulatory commission, which sets rates. She was accused of selling cigarettes illegally online and her nomination was later withdrawn. | |
| Protests in cities around the nation on Sunday night were believed to be the biggest the country had seen in 16 years. Trying to appease the protesters, the prime minister said Tuesday that the license of the Czech utility CEZ, which provides power to many residential customers in Bulgaria, would be withdrawn. Mr. Borisov cited beatings of protesters Tuesday by the police as one reason for his decision. | |
| “Every drop of blood for us is a stain,” he said. “I can’t look at a Parliament surrounded by barricades, that’s not our goal, neither our approach, if we have to protect ourselves from the people.” | |
| Unlike governments across Europe shaken recently for implementing painful austerity measures, analysts say that Bulgaria has maintained tight fiscal discipline since a security board was established in 1997. | Unlike governments across Europe shaken recently for implementing painful austerity measures, analysts say that Bulgaria has maintained tight fiscal discipline since a security board was established in 1997. |
| The global economic crisis has resulted in unemployment and lower income for many Bulgarians, while the cost of living has been going up, according to Daniel Smilov, an analyst at the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia. | The global economic crisis has resulted in unemployment and lower income for many Bulgarians, while the cost of living has been going up, according to Daniel Smilov, an analyst at the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia. |
| “This disparity between incomes and paying the bills is at the root of current problems,” Mr. Smilov says. “The people don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel and the burden is being felt more.” | |
| Mr. Smilov says that the Parliament, controlled by Mr. Borisov, is expected to accept the government’s resignation. A caretaker government will then be appointed while elections are organized. | Mr. Smilov says that the Parliament, controlled by Mr. Borisov, is expected to accept the government’s resignation. A caretaker government will then be appointed while elections are organized. |
| The procedure to elect a new government, involving discussions among the parties in Parliament, will probably be skipped, Mr. Smilov said, because most parties have said that they do not want to participate in an interim government. Mr. Borisov said his party would not participate in an interim government. | The procedure to elect a new government, involving discussions among the parties in Parliament, will probably be skipped, Mr. Smilov said, because most parties have said that they do not want to participate in an interim government. Mr. Borisov said his party would not participate in an interim government. |
| Opposition parties have been trying to exploit public anger over the government’s austerity measures. Elections are now expected in April or May. | |
| Mr. Borisov, who became prime minister in 2009, has been a leading figure in Bulgarian public life for a decade in many capacities. As the owner of a private company, he provided security services for Todor Zhivkov, the former Communist leader of Bulgaria. He was then the personal bodyguard for Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the child czar who returned to Bulgaria and was prime minister from 2001 to 2005. | |
| Mr. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha appointed him general secretary of the Interior Ministry, putting him in charge of the police. Mr. Borisov founded a political party and was elected the mayor of Sofia before becoming prime minister. | |
| “Mr. Borisov is a typical populist leader who came to power promising to take revenge against the transition on behalf of the poor,” said Andrei Raichev, a political analyst at Gallup International in Sofia | |
| “Now the people realize that they were lied to,” he said. | |
| Mr. Raichev added that no one can predict how the public will react to the resignation. | |
| “We could even reach the absurd situation that the protests continue against no one,” he said. “Which means that they are against everyone.” | |
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: |
| Correction: February 20, 2013 | Correction: February 20, 2013 |
An earlier version of this article and an accompanying photo caption misspelled the given name of Bulgaria’s prime minister. He is Boiko Borisov, not Boyko. | An earlier version of this article and an accompanying photo caption misspelled the given name of Bulgaria’s prime minister. He is Boiko Borisov, not Boyko. |