Bulgaria Government

Bulgaria's president swore in a caretaker premier and set elections for April 19--bringing an end to two years of Socialist rule that ruined the nation's economy. New Premier Stefan Sofiyanski, a popular economist, built a solid reputation as mayor of Sofia despite the country's economic troubles. His interim government must now try to correct hyper-inflation and a sharp drop in living standards, which brought street protests that helped bring down the Socialists.

Thousands of festive protesters streamed through central Sofia on Saturday on the 27th day of anti-government rallies to press Bulgaria's ruling Socialists to quit and hold elections. "We think that victory is very close," opposition leader Ivan Kostov told a cheering throng. Dispirited Socialists, the ex-Communists, are struggling to form a new government amid signs of internal rifts over whether to soldier on despite mass protests or call an election two years early.

Bulgaria's ruling Socialist Party named a new government Monday, risking violence from struggling citizens who have demonstrated daily over the country's economic chaos. Tensions were high Monday as the Socialists--the Communists' successors--ignored pointed suggestions by the president to surrender their mandate to govern. Traffic came to a complete standstill in Sofia, the capital, as public transport workers went on strike and students blocked key intersections.

A fresh offer by Bulgaria's ruling Socialists for talks on a coalition government was rejected Sunday, and the party now looks set to form an all-Socialist Cabinet despite widespread opposition. Both the main opposition Union of Democratic Forces and President Petar Stoyanov quickly slammed the door on talks unless the Socialists first gave back the mandate they received last week to form a new Cabinet.

This country's former Communists gave up their battle to hold on to power Tuesday, agreeing to early elections after 30 days of protests against their rule. Elated residents of the capital threw a citywide street party in celebration, dancing, honking horns and crying "Victory!" The Socialists' concession evaporated tension that had been mounting daily while the political stalemate prevented the Balkan country from handling its desperate economic problems.

Faced with Bulgaria's bloodiest uprising since the end of Stalinist rule, the governing ex-Communists agreed Sunday to hold talks with opposition leaders demanding early elections. Georgi Parvanov, the leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, said on state television that talks could start as early as today. He made it clear, however, that he expected his party to stay in power for at least another year to "stabilize" Bulgaria, which is undergoing its worst economic crisis since 1989.

The country could explode in violence if the ruling ex-Communists do not cede to opposition demands for early parliamentary elections, the outgoing president warned Saturday. But the Socialists--the renamed Communists--refused to budge at a meeting of the National Security Council, a body under President Zhelyu Zhelev bringing together the country's top leaders. They insisted they have a mandate from their victory in 1994 legislative elections and will not cede to the rule of the street.

Bulgarian workers went on strike, stepping up the pressure in more than three weeks of anti-government protests brought on by an economic crisis. Opponents of the Socialist Party staged the nationwide strike a day after President Petar Stoyanov allowed the Socialists to form a new government. As many as 50,000 people rallied throughout the nation, and thousands of students held a march in Sofia, the capital. It was unclear how many workers went on strike.

Petar Beron calculates his monthly salary in loaves of bread. Beron, curator of one of southern Europe's largest natural history museums, has seen the value of his pay plummet from $200 a month last year to about $30 a month now. "We buy only food," Beron said in an office cluttered with books, papers, a computer and a microscope. "I pay some electricity and heating. Clothes are a thing of the past."

In his last hours, Andrei Lukanov was, as usual, a man on many missions. The former prime minister met hurriedly with associates and told them he was ready to go public with a dossier that would expose corruption at the highest levels of Bulgaria's Socialist government. "He seemed happy, full of energy, no sense of danger," said an associate who was present, Kancho Stoychev. Then Lukanov rushed off to lunch with the U.S. ambassador at her residence in this capital.