A prayer for Bulgaria

While I was tucked in my (private) hospital bed for my first ever overnight in a hospital (for some diagnostic work), the Bulgarian Government resigned! The thought of state hospitals not being acceptable to me was just too much of a vote of non-confidence for them! That’s what I call true accountability! 
Or was it just that the Prime Minister felt unable to continue without the benefit of my blog??

High electricity bills had sparked off protests more than a week ago in all Bulgarian cities and the foreign-owned electricity companies (Czechia and Austria) who have monopolies in each of the Regions had been the focus of the discontent. The much-quoted doubling of prices is a distortion since the last bills for a longer and colder month than the previous – but the 60 euros I paid this Monday for a one-bedroom flat whose heating I control is excessive for the many people whose total monthly earnings is no more than 200 euros. On Monday the head of the Deputy Prime Minister was thrown to the crowds – with promises of reduced prices and the revoking of the licence of the Czech electricity company.

But the demonstrations continued and so the Prime Minister resigned his entire government – and this was accepted by an overwhelming majority of parliamentarians yesterday.

So now we are in the same situation Romania was in exactly a year ago – when demonstrations against austerity measures in that country took it from the frying pan into the fire – a new Prime Minister who quickly was exposed as a plagiarist; then ran into conflict with the European Union on fundamental issues of rule of law; and who orchestrated an unsuccessful (on a technicality) Presidential impeachment; but faced and won a general elections in the  autumn – which changed nothing.

I pray that Bulgaria will avoid such chaos.