It was supposed to last four years. It lasted just 399 days - 70 of them spent in caretaker status after the prime minister's own resignation. The cabinet of Rosen Zhelyazkov, Bulgaria's 105th government, came to power on January 16, 2025 promising stability after years of political paralysis, only to collapse under the weight of a failed budget, mass protests, and the ever-present shadow of political patron Delyan Peevski. On February 19, 2026, Zhelyazkov handed power to caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov, closing one of the more turbulent chapters in recent Bulgarian history.

A Coalition Built on Shifting Ground

The cabinet was formed through an agreement between GERB, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), and "There Is Such a People" (TISP), with outside parliamentary support from the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (APS) of Ahmed Dogan. Ministerial posts were split in an 11:5:4 ratio, and the government was confirmed by the National Assembly on January 16 with 125 votes in favour and 114 against. From the outset, however, the coalition's foundation was precarious. When APS withdrew its formal support in April 2025 - citing the perceived influence of Peevski's rival DPS-New Beginning faction over the government - the cabinet was reduced to a minority of 102 MPs out of 240. It survived subsequent no-confidence votes partly by relying on informal DPS support, and even on selective backing from the opposition WCC-DB, who were reluctant to bring down a government steering Bulgaria into the eurozone.

The One Undeniable Achievement: The Euro

The single crowning achievement of the Zhelyazkov government was completing Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone. On January 1, 2026, the lev was replaced by the euro, fulfilling a goal shared by a succession of Bulgarian governments over many years. The cabinet managed to satisfy the required criteria on inflation and budget deficit, and secured formal approval from the EU Council, ECOFIN, and the European Parliament in the summer of 2025. Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova held the deficit to 3% of GDP, a result that even GERB leader Boyko Borissov highlighted in his post-government summary, crediting her with keeping the numbers in check "despite disagreements within the party." Deputy PM Tomislav Donchev also renegotiated parts of Bulgaria's Recovery and Resilience Plan, unlocking delayed EU payments - though Bulgaria ultimately forfeited over 360 million euros because it failed to establish an independent anti-corruption body as promised, opting instead simply to abolish the existing anti-corruption commission entirely.

The Budget Collapse and the Protests

If the euro was the cabinet's legacy, the budget was its undoing. The proposed 2026 state budget - drafted by Finance Minister Petkova - was criticised from the start for bloated expenditure that revenues could not realistically cover. When employers' organisations refused to endorse it and the government moved to bypass the legally required tripartite consultation process between the government, employers, and trade unions, the situation escalated rapidly. What began as protests against the budget quickly transformed into something far larger: mass demonstrations across Bulgaria and among the diaspora abroad, demanding the resignation of the government and, more pointedly, the removal of Borissov and Peevski from political influence. The government withdrew the first draft, offered a second, but protests did not subside. On December 11, 2025, just before a sixth no-confidence vote - this one tabled by WCC-DB, APS, and others on economic policy grounds - Zhelyazkov announced the cabinet's resignation, rendering the vote moot. Parliament accepted it unanimously the following day, with 227 votes in favour and none against.

Unresolved Crises and Questionable Decisions

Beyond the budget, the cabinet left several urgent problems unresolved. The devastating wildfires of summer 2025 prompted promises of new aerial firefighting equipment and increased prevention funding - commitments made by Zhelyazkov, Borissov, and Peevski alike. None materialised. Similarly, a severe water rationing crisis, particularly acute in Pleven, saw ministers make repeated visits and pledges, but by December only a fraction of the promised 200 million levs (around 100 million euros) had actually been disbursed to the city. Perhaps the most diplomatically damaging episode came after the resignation, when it emerged that Zhelyazkov had attended the founding ceremony of Donald Trump's so-called "Board of Peace" - a move that drew sharp criticism across the EU. The decision had been taken through a classified Council of Ministers decree, and the full contents of what Bulgaria signed remain undisclosed. The government later announced it would not submit the agreement for parliamentary ratification.

The Borissov Verdict

GERB leader Boyko Borissov offered his own assessment of the cabinet's record at a post-handover event, framing it largely as a success story: the euro, the Board of Peace participation, resumed EU funding, and a repaired relationship with both the European Commission and the United States. On the criticism that GERB had been politically "bundled" with Peevski, Borissov was defiant, arguing that the opposition's own dealings with Peevski were more compromising. "Without my leadership, none of this would have happened," he said, before calling for full mobilisation ahead of the April 19 elections.

What Comes Next

The caretaker government of Andrey Gyurov - which includes a newly created position of deputy prime minister for fair elections - takes over with three immediate priorities: organising the April 19 parliamentary vote, passing a budget extension law, and unlocking payments owed to municipalities. Incoming ministers across portfolios used their handover ceremonies to emphasise transparency and institutional continuity. Whether the elections deliver the stability that the Zhelyazkov cabinet so conspicuously failed to provide remains, for now, an open question.

This text is published as an opinion piece; the article does not necessarily reflect the views of Novinite.com