Bulgaria’s Winter Uprising: Anti-Corruption Protests Expose the Illusion of European Integration |
Protests against the draft state budget began in Bulgaria in late November, and in early December, young people took part en masse under the slogan, “You’ve angered the wrong generation.”
The coalition government led by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelazkov, based on the center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), lost its ability to govern under the pressure of continuous street protests. In mainstream Western media, these events were often framed as a “pro-European uprising,” implying that the streets rose in defense of Bulgaria’s EU integration. This interpretation not only oversimplifies reality but actually misrepresents the protests’ purpose. At their core, they were driven by mounting frustration over corruption, clientelism, and elite impunity—problems that have persisted alongside formal European integration for years.
The Budget as a Spark for Systemic Revolt
The immediate catalyst for the crisis was the 2026 budget proposal. It marked a clear departure from Bulgaria’s previously relatively conservative fiscal approach. The government proposed substantial salary increases in the public sector—well above private-sector wage growth—while simultaneously raising taxes and contributions for businesses and employees.
In a country long struggling with politicized administration and clientelism, these proposals were not seen as development-oriented policies but rather as an attempt to further cement structures loyal to those in power. Critics argued that the additional funds would flow to inefficient institutions, strengthening personal and political dependency networks. The budget thus became a symbol of a much larger issue: a system entrenched enough to survive repeated elections and government changes.
Since 2020, Bulgaria has held seven early parliamentary elections. The ongoing instability was not the result of “democratic chaos” but of the inability to break through the same entrenched networks that had operated for years under the umbrella of European........