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Bulgaria is entering a period of political turbulence. For the first time in the democratic history of the country, the elections for President and the National Assembly will be held on the same day. President Radev is favourite to win a second term. He continues to be the politician with the highest approval in the country. The next parliament is also expected to be highly fragmented, which will make negotiations for a stable parliamentary majority difficult.

Bulgaria entered an unprecedented political crisis following the antisystemic, antiparliamentary and destructive behaviour of There Is Such a People (Ima Takuv Narod - ITN). Political polarisation in the country has built a wall between the main political parties, which restricts opportunities for dialogue and finding a solution to form a Parliamentary majority. Third Parliamentary elections in slightly over six months push the state to a stalemate and to deepening the political crisis.

The bilingual (Bulgarian and English) collection is the result of more than a year of cooperation of the LevFem team, the Transnational Social Strike Platform, the international feminist network EAST - Essential Autonomous Struggles Transnational and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Bulgaria. The publication reflects the social and labor struggles, strikes and protests of women, migrants, key workers and LGBTI+ people from Eastern Europe (but also beyond) in the context of the Covid-19 crisis.

Bulgaria, like most European countries, is also a ground for the development of far-right movements and organisations. Widespread stereotypes in today’s Bulgarian society regarding “others”, Turks, Roma, Jews, refugees and LGBT people are negative. However, there is also a different level of tolerance for such differences, with the Roma being the most hated ethnic group. Four main dimensions of value perceptions, which are usually considered to be the basis for far right

attitudes - ethnocentrism, racism, xenophobia and islamophobia and conspiracy belief - are the subject of an analysis prepared by Prof. Dr. Antony Todorov, based on an empirical sociological survey conducted in autumn 2020 by the agency AFIS. The data analysis was performed by Chavdar Naidenov and Stefan Georgiev.

Industrial relations and social dialogue are an important element of any modern society. This publication aims to analyze their situation in Bulgaria in 2020, taking into account two important circumstances - the pandemic of COVID-19 and the census of members of trade unions and employers’ organizations. COVID-19 has led to the loss of many jobs and a change in the way many employees work. The census is carried out once every four years and is used to determine the nationally representative organizations of workers and employers.

The early parliamentary elections held on July 11th were marked by a record low turnout. For the first time since 2009, GERB are not the first political force. After a poor performance, BSP remains the third force.

The caretaker government has set about its work actively. The main challenge facing the caretaker government is the implementation of fair elections. Electoral polls show that Slavi Trifonov’s party is gaining ground on GERB and there is a definite possibility that for the first time since 2009 the party led by Boyko Borisov will lose the parliamentary elections.

After the decision of “There is such a people” to return the mandate to form a government, there will probably be new elections. The risks for a possible caretaker government appointed by the president will be high in view of the economic crisis and problems regarding the budget.The frustration of thousands of Bulgarians who supported the protests last year will intensify.

GERB won the elections, but it could be a Pyrrhic victory and the party will probably remain in opposition. The surprise of the elections was “There is such a people”, which achieved second place. The election results show that citizens want significant change.

The holding of elections in the circumstances of an epidemic is a major challenge facing the country. At this juncture, GERB, according to sociologists, is the leading political force, but the government has exceptionally low levels of confidence, and this may bring about surprises. With a greatly fragmented parliament, forming a ruling coalition will entail the agreement of at least three parties.