By Sean Carney

The Wall Street Journal

The friction of daily life in European Union member state Bulgaria is tense and shows no signs of waning.

As one cabinet has fallen and another faces daily anti-government marches and calls for the second early elections this year, this week saw an arson attack against a television reporter.

Television anchor and reporter Genka Shikerova found her car burned and destroyed outside of her home on Monday night. Upon completing an investigation of the scene, inspectors said the car was set ablaze intentionally.

Local media speculate that the destruction of the reporter's car was the political elite's way of warning Ms. Shikerova and her peers to tread carefully and not disturb the political status quo.

"As you can suppose it's not a great experience to see your car in fire," she said in a written response to questions. When asked if it could be a politically-motivated threat, she said "If it's true it would be very frightful."

Ms. Shikerova's recent interviews with leaders of the two parties in the Socialist-led coalition government resulted in the Socialists and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms later exchanging barbs over who was responsible for deeply unpopular personnel decisions that sparked protests in June that continue unabated today.

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