The second Cabinet of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov begins its term with 26 % of Bulgarians expressing confidence in it, according to a recent public opinion poll.

This becomes clear from the December edition of the regular Political and Economic Index of Gallup International, which was published on Thursday.

The October 5 elections and the establishment of a coalition government have led to some decrease in public anxiety.

The desire for stabilisation and return to normality is dominating the popular opinion, and the society seems to be exhausted from the recent political crises.

The parties in power - Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) and Reformist Bloc (RB) and those supporting the government – the Patriotic Front (PF) and the Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV) retain their support, while the opposition parties, with the exception of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), are experiencing a difficult time.

The survey, which is independent in its financing, was carried out between November 28 and December 4, among 1 007 respondents, who were interviewed over the telephone.

According to the initial level of confidence, the second Borisov Cabinet is similar to other governments that were established in the circumstances of tough negotiations and heavy compromises.

There is a 10 % increase in the level of confidence compared to the beginning of last month, when negotiations between the parties were going on and the government was still in the making.

In the months close to the elections and following them, minor increase in optimism is recorded in Bulgaria's direction of development.

Although 65 % of Bulgarians state that the country is heading in a worse direction in the beginning of December, the values remain firmly below the 70 % that were recorded during the summer or during last year's protests.

Following the elections, the confidence in Parliament also records a minor increase, reaching 16 % in the beginning of December, while mistrust drops significantly.

According to sociologists, all parliamentary elections have the effect of giving confidence to the newly-emerging government.

The governments that have the highest level of confidence are of the type of the Sakskoburggotski Government (2001-2005), the first Borisov Cabinet (2009-2013) and that of Prime Minister Ivan Kostov (1997-2001).

Governments that undergo a difficult process of formation have a lower level of confidence.

Thus the incumbent government has levels of popularity similar to those of the Stanishev Cabinet (2005-2009) and that of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski (2013-2014).

Sociologists claim that another reason for the relatively low level of confidence in the Cabinet, is that not all of the sympathisers of RB, PF and ABV support the government.

Another positive trend is that only 12 % of Bulgarians think that early elections are necessary, while during the government of Plamen Oresharski the figure hovered around 40 %.

The potential for protests is also relatively low – only 11 % state that they will participate in a protest against the incumbent government, while these levels were between 20 % and 30 % during the summer and autumn of 2013.

As a rule, the parties in power enjoy lasting support, with GERB attracting 26 % of the votes in case elections are to take place, while the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) gathers only 13 %.

More than a third of Bulgarians declare that they are not going to vote in case an election takes place.

The new figures in Cabinet are relatively unknown, with the Education Minister Todor Tanev being the least known, as 65 % of respondents have not heard of him.

Contrary to expectations, the PF and ABV do not suffer any damages to their electoral support due to their support for the government.

The electoral support for the RB does not seem to be affected by the increasing tensions between its constituent parties.

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