In recent days, rising public discontent has revealed cracks in Prime Minister Borisov's administration, but without significantly affecting his cabinet or leading to major turmoil. The water crisis in Pernik, tons of garbage that poured to Bulgaria, the ecological catastrophe related to discharge of pesticides into the Maritza River, the polluted air in big cities, problems with dams and water supply in this country, and the ratification of CETA in parliament have all made many people take to the streets.

"I have realised that the garbage should be removed from Bulgaria, as this is a terrible problem that would affect future generations," says Georgi Petkov, who points out that many reasons for protests exist. “Where do such quantities come from, without the knowledge and consent of Bulgarians? The environment is highly endangered and this problem must be addressed urgently. "

Ivaylo Zdravkov thinks the same and calls for the government’s resignation:

"I learned about the protest from Facebook, so I immediately came. The picture is really very pathetic and I don't see how protests will lead to any results."

Atanas Goranov shares the opinion that people at the protest are too few. Apparently, all these problems are not sufficient to attract the attention of more citizens, whose protests could make the government resign, the way it has happened before.

According to political scientist Kancho Stoychev, the current cabinet could collapse only because of internal issues as it gained stability from the 2019 European Parliament elections, as well as the local elections. “At the same time, there is active opposition but it is unconvincing in the minds of the people.” The views of sociologist Anthony Galabov are similar. According to him, "the country lacks a sense of an existing political project capable of attracting the confidence and trust of the majority of Bulgarian citizens. There is a great demand in Bulgarian society for something different. The big question is that so far this search has not led to finding something inspiring enough."

The status quo is being preserved because of lack of alternatives...

Probably that is why the fourth vote of no confidence against the government, demanded by the opposition, was rejected, although according to political scientist Boris Popivanov it was "the most logical thing that could happen in such a situation." According to him, “in each election year the problems that are not resolved may be swept away by claims that this is just an election campaign of opponents. But after the election the same problems resurface once again.” The political scientist believes that the accumulated dissatisfaction is against “a long- prolonged framework of development of the country characterized by a lack of a clear perspective and clear strategic thinking in any sphere. The water sector is an up-to-date example, but wherever one searches, the same problems are being discovered - mismanagement and negligence." This sense of carelessness gives rise also to apathy among the Bulgarians who see no meaning in the protests as a way capable of changing the existing status quo.

Few recognize problems of others as their own…

For two years now, protests have become the usual way of attracting the attention of those in power, who do not seem to worry about popular discontent. When mothers of children with disabilities started protests in front of the Council of Ministers and Parliament; when farmers protested against culling their pigs because of swine fever, or when nurses protested, few people joined the protests.

At recent protests, many of Sofia citizens were just passing by protesters once again. Some are aware of the problems of others, but they are not convinced that protests would achieve results. Others prefer to express dissatisfaction on social networks and consider this sufficient enough. The Bulgarian society and the government seem to have got used to scandals, like those related to apartments, guest houses, the Healthcare Fund, as well as the current scandal related to private lotteries that had not managed to attract the attention of the Ministry of Finance for 5 years… People often say that “Every miracle lasts for three days”, because the problems of others do not seem to directly affect us.

English: Alexander Markov