Bulgaria's new coalition government emerges amid growing social unrest. On Nov. 4, a 48-year-old Bulgarian set himself on fire in Sandanski, a border town in southwestern Bulgaria, just one day 38-year-old woman self-immolated in front of the Bulgarian president's office in Sofia. Both are alive but in critical condition.
The motives for these self-immolations are unclear, but the incidents have played an important role in Bulgarian politics recently. Boyko Borisov, the head of the center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, has been charged with forming the new government, but his previous term in office ended ahead of schedule in 2013 amid a corruption scandal and demonstrations against increased utility and living costs. Six self-immolations occurred during that period of unrest.
Since early 2013, successive governments have failed to address Bulgaria's economic troubles. According to the European Commission's fall economic forecast, real gross domestic product growth in Bulgaria will drop from 1.2 percent in 2014 to 0.6 percent next year, and the European Commission expects consumption, along with private and public investment, to drop next year.
Although the recent self-immolations have not triggered new protests, they could contribute to a renewed focus on the economic difficulties Bulgarians face in everyday life, thus raising public demand for economic growth and reform. However, rising economic expectations will significantly challenge the new government, whose factions will disagree on some aspects of economic policy. If these factions are unable to meet demands for economic change, it could significantly undermine the new government's credibility.
