Bulgaria's president on Thursday
called for a new political culture that would prevent citizens
being "robbed" and "lied to" as he named an election date of May
12 to try to stem a surge of popular discontent.
Prime Minister Boiko Borisov quit last week after nationwide
protests against high electricity prices - the final straw to
many citizens in the European Union's poorest country, who have
begun to despair of any improvement in living standards or
governance.
While Bulgaria has avoided the debt or deficit problems of
many of its peers, maintaining a currency peg to the euro,
economic growth is sluggish and unemployment has risen to almost
12 percent.
Demonstrations by tens of thousands of Bulgarians have
already forced some concessions including a promise that
electricity firms will be forced to cut prices by 8 percent.
Whoever wins the election will be under considerable pressure to
spend in order to raise a standard of living that is less than
half the EU average.
"Our compatriots make it clear they want simple things -
they want decent politicians, they don't want to be robbed, they
do not want to be lied to and they want to live good lives,"
President Rosen Plevneliev told parliament.
He said an interim government, which will probably be
appointed next week, would aim for stability by sticking to the
2013 budget, which foresees a deficit of 1.3 percent of GDP, and
implementing previous commitments such as a 9 percent increase
in pensions from April.
NEXT PARLIAMENT
The president said he wanted the next parliament to focus on
passing strong laws against monopolies - one of the protesters'
demands - and full liberalisation of the electricity market, to
give consumers greater choice.
He also urged political parties to include more ordinary
citizens in their electoral lists.
Six years after joining the EU, Bulgaria trails far behind
other members. It is struggling to use EU money to overhaul
outdated infrastructure, or to tackle rampant corruption and
rampant organised crime.
Many protesters have criticised Bulgaria's whole political
class, which they say acts in its own interests and does not
help ordinary people.
The average wage is just 400 euros a month and pension less
than half that, so electricity prices - although among the EU's
lowest - bite particularly deep, particularly in winter when
many people use it to heat their homes. Some Bulgarians heat
only one room of their apartments and live in that throughout
the winter, when temperatures can fall to -15 Celsius (5 F).
Demonstrators have attacked energy company offices and three
people have set themselves on fire.
Borisov's outgoing government did not make clear how the
promised cut in electricity prices would be paid for, but it has
alarmed investors by saying it would revoke the distribution
licence of the Czech utility CEZ.
CEZ and the other two distributors, Austria's EVN
and the Czech firm Energo-Pro, say they have done
nothing wrong.
Support for Borisov's rightist GERB party has fallen over
the last year, and it is now neck-and-neck with the opposition
Socialists (BSP). However, polls suggest neither has enough
support for an overall majority, and whichever wins will have to
try to assemble a coalition to form a working government.
(www.reuters.com)