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GRReporter’s readers see real hope for a change in # DANSwithme protests in Bulgaria, which began in mid-June this year.

The spark that set fire to the civil society’s dissatisfaction in Bulgaria was the attempted appointment of dubious Delian Peevski as the head of one of the most important power structures of the country - the State Agency for National Security (SANS). Not only does Peevski not meet all the criteria for this position, but his name is associated with a series of violations. One of the most prominent scandals includes putting pressure on director of Bulgartabac Hristo Lachev. At the time, CEO of the holding Hristo Lachev said that Peevski forced him to enter into contracts with companies close to the MRF party.

The illegitimate appointment of Peevski was the last straw that broke the camel's back for Bulgarians, who have been observing the moral decay of politics in the country for 23 years.

Since 14 June, tens of thousands of Bulgarians who want change have been gathering in front of the building of the Council of Ministers in the capital on a daily basis in order to force the government of Oresharski to resign. They demand that the Bulgarian policy should be set free from the economic oligarchy in the country and the government and underworld should break the links that connect them.

In connection with the latest developments, GRReporter asked readers, "What do you expect from #DANSwithme protests in Bulgaria?"

The majority of voters chose the most optimistic opinion, which states that the protests will form a broad reformist bloc against the mafia and political oligarchy. More than half of the readers of the Greek version of our website share this opinion, as well as 43% and 65% of our followers in the Bulgarian and English versions, respectively.

The number of readers who chose a pessimistic view regarding the consequences from the Bulgarian protests against the Mafia in the government is also considerable. The opinion that nothing will change: dogs bark, but the caravans move on is shared by one in five voters in the Bulgarian version of the website, 14% of English respondents and 17% of Greek readers.

The opinion that the protests will blur due to summer holidays ranks third. Over a month ago, when the poll began, this seemed highly likely. This is what happened in Greece in 2011, when the movement “The indignant on Syntagma” weakened in August. So far, Bulgarian protesters are holding the front and have managed to refute the opinion of 20% of Greek respondents and 6% and 8% of voters in the English and Bulgarian versions of the website, respectively.

Unlike in Turkey, Egypt and even Greece, the current Bulgarian protests are characterised by their peaceful nature. The lack of constant clashes with the police and shedding of blood caused lack of interest on the part of the international media in the Bulgarian wave of resentment. However, about one in ten of voters in the three versions of GRReporter think that # DANSwithme protests in Sofia will make Europe and the world pay attention to the outrages of the Bulgarian political elite.

The idea that the protests will put pressure and change the law on elections that will enable new parties to enter parliament apparently seems impossible to the readers of the Greek version of the website. No one in the Greek poll supports this opinion, unlike the Bulgarian version of our website, where 18% of respondents agree with this claim. Only 5% of the poll respondents in the English version agree with it.

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