SOFIA: Bulgarian parliament has approved the resignation of the coalition government of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov amid nationwide anti-corruption protests, and weeks ahead of the country’s scheduled euro zone entry.

Protesters, many of them young Bulgarians, have been protesting in the tens of thousands across the nation for weeks. 

The direct trigger was a proposed budget for next year that would have increased taxes and social security contributions to finance more state spending.  The deeper cause, however, was rising anger over a perception of widespread corruption among the political elite and a sense that justice does not prevail for ordinary citizens.

The protests and the fall of the 9th government in five years underscored the country’s political instability as it plans to join the common European currency.

The 240-seat chamber voted 127-0 to accept the resignation. 

The Cabinet will continue performing its duties until a new government is elected. Zhelyazkov’s minority government survived six votes of no confidence since it was appointed in January, but this time the large turnout of protesters on the streets changed the game.

The prime minister announced his resignation on Thursday, saying it was a direct response to the growing public pressure and that the demand for the government to step down had become impossible to ignore. “Vox populi, vox Dei,” Zhelyazkov said, using a Latin expression meaning “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”

In the next step, President Rumen Radev must allow the largest parliamentary group to form a new government. If that fails, the second-largest grouping will get a chance before the president chooses a candidate. If all attempts fail — which is likely — Radev will appoint a caretaker Cabinet until a new election is held. Political analysts expect that another election — the eighth since 2021 — will likely produce a deeply fragmented parliament, making it difficult to form a stable government.

The Balkan country of 6.4 million people is due to make the switch from its national currency, the lev, to the euro on Jan. 1, to become the euro zone’s 21st member.  Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007.