According to sociologist Evelina Slavkova from "Trend", the dissatisfaction is far from being limited to specific policies, as was the topic of the budget.
„This was not a protest about the budget. This was a protest about the future. When society protests about its future, politicians have almost no tools to calm it down“, she told bTV.
The sociologist points out that the big surprise is the activity outside of Sofia – cities that traditionally have difficulty mobilizing, this time joined in en masse.
Her colleague Dobromir Zhivkov from "Market Links" made a strong analogy with key periods in our recent history:
„These are not economic protests. These are value protests. We have seen such civic energy in 1989-1990, and then in 2020.“
According to him, the current government was created with the sole purpose of putting an end to the continuous elections, but it has failed to meet expectations for stability.
The new draft budget, presented minutes before midnight on Friday against Saturday, according to Zhivkov will not reduce the desire for protests.
„The time for this has passed. Public tension has been building up for years. It is not a matter of a few adjustments to the budget.“
Slavkova is categorical:
„One word can be the black swan that ignites a protest. The algorithms work in such a way that the replicas are multiplied 70 times.“
Politicians, according to her, neither understand the impact of social networks, nor are they any longer able to communicate their policies through traditional media.
65% of Bulgarians say that they strongly feel the increase in prices in the store.
„This is not a problem from this year. Since COVID-19, people have felt a continuous increase. Politicians did not have a conversation with the public about inflation.“, says Slavkova.
According to Zhivkov, radicalization began in the summer:
„The arrest of Varna Mayor Kotsev was the first spark. Since then, we have begun to measure a surge in public tension“, he believes.
According to the two analysts, the protest goes beyond the boundaries of party electorates.
Analysts warn of one of the biggest risks:
“The biggest risk is the emergence of a new national savior who will consume the citizen's energy, as happened with Slavi Trifonov in 2021“
“The people in the square are not chanting Radev's name. But his request is already clear. For him, time is key – the sooner there are elections, the greater his potential. He benefits from early elections“, Slavkova commented.
According to her, January and February – the decisive moment.
Both sociologists point to the winter months as vulnerable for people because they may appear:
„That's when it will be decided whether there will be early elections. Everything depends on whether the protests will maintain their intensity.“, says Slavkova.