Bulgaria’s embattled Socialists have confirmed the government will defy calls to resign, describing protests as a form of racketeering.

“We will seek consent, but will not succumb to blackmail and ultimatums, will hold the government responsible for the promises it has made. There is no way back for us, because the choice we made serves the public interest,” BSP leader Sergey Stanishev said from the parliamentary rostrum on Wednesday.

According to him, many people who are protesting, willingly or unwillingly, serve the status quo because they impede the normal operation of the government and the parliament.

"The protests are legitimate, democratic right of citizens, but what is democratic about surrounding the parliament and holding MPs hostage?”

Rallies against Bulgaria’s Socialist-backed government in the capital Sofia may have reduced sharply, but protesters have promised a showdown on September 4.

Despite forecasts that the rallies will end as Bulgarian lawmakers are now on summer break, demonstrators have been gathering on Independence square in front of the Council of Ministers building every day.

Their number, however, has been much lower, compared to the peak of the protests when up to 20 000 showed up.

But regular participants in the anti-government demonstrations, who set up the so-called “protest network”, have vowed to be back with a vengeance on September 4, when MPs summer recess is over and they are back to work.

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