Fences have been placed in front of the Parliament building since the protests began in June 2013. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency
It was clear from the start that Bulgaria's European elections would be dominated by the internal power struggle.
Following Sunday's results, this has become even more evident. GERB came out as the big winners, just over a year after their government led by Boyko Borisov was ousted by popular protests. As the saying goes, "Bulgarians have short memory".
And if the trailing Socialists (BSP) were quick to sum up their MEP mandates with coalition partner DPS to a total of 8 (2 more than GERB), then what was to come as a statement from Lyutvi Mestan, DPS's leader, would clearly not be the signal they were hoping for.
"There is no way the current government can complete its full term in this political reality", Mestan said after Monday's debates on the no-confidence vote.
If he loses DPS's support, PM Oresharski's cabinet has no chance of surviving.
Another interesting aspect to follow in the coming days would be Ataka's behavior. As a tacit partner of the government, the ultranationalists will have no incentives to bring out the ballot boxes once again, especially after Sunday's disappointing results.
So Brussels is now in the past, the show is once again in Sofia.