Bulgaria: Sofia blocked by protests, camping sites in the main squares. A cabinet reshuffle and the anti-Covid measures have not been enough

A capital blocked up, its main junctions impassable, and two camping sites set up right in the midst of Sofia, on Eagles’ Bridge and in front of the Cabinet Building. In the last two days, this has been the situation in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, where anti-governmental protests asking for the resignation of the Conservative government led by Boyko Borissov and of the Public Prosecutor, Ivan Gheshev, have gone on nonstop since 10th July. Rallies that are being held all over Bulgaria, with motorways, bridges and passes temporarily blocked up. For The Prime Minister does not seem to be wanting to resign for the time being, last week he reshuffled the government, replacing four ministers, but this did not appease the people. The government passed a plan worth over 500 million euros to help the weaker classes hit by Covid-19, on the background of an ever rising number of infections. In addition, Bulgaria is also going through an institutional crisis: actually, public unrest is fuelled up by the president of the Republic, Rumen Radev. As the protesters and the government did not find any common ground, the former decided to call everyone to civil disobedience by moving on to further measures, such as blocking the motorways, passes and public institutions. The government is accused of having connections with organised crime, protecting corruption, and suppressing freedom of the press. Thirteen years after joining the EU, Bulgaria is still the poorest member, while “Gerb”, the ruling party led by Borissov, has been in power for almost 10 years.
Valentina Bombelli