Bulgaria’s center-right minority government resigned Thursday under the weight of weeks-long anti-corruption protests, plunging the nation into political uncertainty just weeks before it is set to adopt the euro on Jan. 1, 2026.
Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced the decision minutes before parliament was to vote on the sixth no-confidence motion against his cabinet, sparing his administration a potential defeat while leaving Europe’s poorest member state at a crossroads.
“The government resigns today,” Zhelyazkov told reporters after a meeting with ruling party leaders, echoing the demands of tens of thousands of demonstrators who filled Sofia’s streets the night before.
The resignation marks yet another episode in Bulgaria’s chronic political instability, as the country has held seven national elections in the past four years amid accusations of oligarchic control, state capture, and pervasive graft.
Controversial budget and corruption concerns
