The government of Plamen Oresharski, which was born in sin after the union of the two parties that lost the early elections in May 2013 – BSP and the MRF, started its rule with the quintessence of insolence, political condescension and lack of transparency.

On June 14, 2013, the socialist PM Oresharski proposed with a short speech to appoint then 32-year-old MP of the MRF Party Delyan Peevski as the head of the State Agency for National Security. With the undeclared support of the nationalists from Ataka and without discussions Peevski became the head of one of the most important institutions in the country. Mr. Peevski graduated in law and has absolutely no experience in the sphere of security. He was also fired for corruption at the position of Deputy Minister of Disasters in the government of BSP leader Sergey Stanishev, which ruled the country in the period 2005-2009. Delyan Peevski is also a media mogul who continues to be considered one of the darkest and most untouchable figures from the Bulgarian underworld.

Not only the unprecedented impertinence, but the doubtful legitimacy of the executive authority sparked a wave of protests in this country. On the same day – June 14, thousands of people spontaneously went to the streets to protest against the scandalous appointment and called for the immediate resignation of the government.  Protests continued over the next days and the summer was going to be really hot for the new cabinet.

The ruling BSP and MRF were initially scared as they did not expect that “the people's masses” could wake up and hold politicians responsible for one of the latest demonstrations of sheer lack of transparency. However, PM Oresharski did not think of resigning. He considered it enough to reluctantly apologize for making a mistake. Anti-government protests continued and the cabinet used unprecedented police and gendarmerie force to keep themselves away from the “people’s love.” The culmination took place on the 40th day of the protests, when on July 23 protesters organized a blockade of the government and started building barricades before the repressive state apparatus managed to disperse them.

Gradually, the wave of the anti-government protests started to be ridden by various parties and organizations, thirsty for media coverage and power. This way the number of protesters sharply declined from tens of thousands to just dozens. They seemed to forget about their initial goal and protests started being calm just like the ruling cabinet, which continued with underhand dealings.

Thus, the European Elections came on May 25 this year and the Bulgarian Socialist Party suffered defeat. Days after the elections coalition partner MRF called for early elections. BSP did not have a choice except calling for the same.

Under the slogan “Let’s finish what we started,” the first anniversary since the start of anti-government protests in Bulgaria was marked in a number of cities. Protesters kept calling for the cabinet’s resignation. And one of the posters read “Oresharski, if you love your people – resign! If people loved you, they would elect you again.”

Keeping in mind the ongoing political crisis in Bulgaria, a second anniversary of the protests against the Oresharski cabinet is not expected. It is a question of days for Oresharski to resign but not because of people’s protests. However, after a year of protest rallies politicians should already know that society has been closely following their actions and is ready to show them a yellow or red card whenever needed.

English: Alexander Markov