Thousands stage new protests in Bulgaria despite PM's apology

Thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets for a sixth straight day of protests on Wednesday, demanding the resignation of new Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski despite his apology over a political blunder. Carrying Bulgarian flags, the protesters gathered outside the government headquarters in downtown Sofia, shouting "Mafia!" "Red garbage!" and "Resignation!" Over 600 nationalists also staged a separate rally outside parliament, waving black flags and pressing for new elections. Oresharski's appointment of controversial media mogul Delyan Peevski as head of the powerful national security agency DANS had sparked public outrage. The prime minister, who has been in office just three weeks, has since reversed the appointment. He also apologised Wednesday. "I made a political mistake and I apologise not only to you but to all the people who came out to protest," Oresharski, 53, told parliament. But the demonstrators would not let up on their protests, sparking fears of a fresh political crisis after massive rallies against rising poverty forced out the previous government just four months ago. Oresharski insisted that his resignation would only worsen the former communist country's economic and social woes. "It is extremely important to maintain civil peace in the name of the stabilisation of the state," the prime minister said. In a bid to placate critics, Oresharski rushed through parliament on Wednesday a package of measures aimed at easing poverty and repairing battered trust in democracy. "Today I stand before all Bulgarian citizens and the members of parliament to ask for your temporary support for an urgent package of stabilisation and emergency measures for improving the lot of the Bulgarian people, the business environment and the democratisation of governance," Oresharski said. The measures, approved by 117 votes to one abstention -- the opposition conservatives were absent, boycotting parliament since Tuesday -- include heating subsidies, a cap on utility prices, higher maternity leave allowances, pensions and civil servant salaries. He also agreed on a demand made by protesters for changes to the electoral system, including easing the requirements for independent candidates and smaller parties to stand in elections. "Carving out a new electoral code so that the country will be better prepared to organise more democratic elections next time is high on the (cabinet's) agenda," Oresharski promised. But analysts were uncertain if this will be sufficient to appease voters. A poll by the Alpha research institute showed that for the first time in decades, the proportion of those who trust the newly-elected cabinet, 23 percent, was even less than those who were against it -- 28 percent. "This negative balance shows that public opinion is extremely unstable and there is potential for sharp changes," the institute said in a statement. While 80 percent of those surveyed approved of the cabinet's social measures, an even higher proportion of 85 percent backed the protests against Peevski's appointment. Just over half backed the calls for the prime minister's resignation, according to Alpha. Oresharski is due to travel to Brussels Thursday and Friday for his first meeting with European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.