Protests in Bulgaria again: Bulgarian Generation Z has been protesting en masse since December 1st against corruption and a controversial budget. The message to the government is clear: "You angered the wrong generation."

A controversial budget, endemic corruption, and political arrogance caught on camera all combined to spark massive protests.

On December 1, Bulgaria's Generation Z took to the streets in the largest nationwide demonstrations in decades, demanding that next year's budget be revoked and the government resign.

Although the government responded to the protests by presenting a new budget bill that postpones tax and social security contributions increases for two years, it is unlikely to be enough to quell the frustration of Generation Z as it returned to the streets on Wednesday (10.12.2025).

In fact, the events of the last ten days have revealed an increasingly widening divide between the ruling parties and the youth.

“The budget was the reason to protest, but the root cause is that we see no prospects for staying in Bulgaria, starting a business or building a family,” said 18-year-old high school student Martin Atanassov, who joined the demonstrations.

Generation Z's growing interest in politics
Generation Z is the first generation to have no personal memories of either the communist regime, which ruled the country from 1944 to 1989, or the hyperinflation crisis of the late 1990s.

In a country where turnout barely reached 39% in the last parliamentary elections, young people have been increasingly engaged in politics since the start of the mass protests.

Their demands range from better healthcare to improved employment opportunities.

War against corruption
“Essentially, the political demand of Generation Z is to end corruption,” said Mimi Shishkova, a publisher and influencer who has become a key figure for Generation Z, with many people following her explanations of politics online.

Although Bulgaria's economy has grown significantly since joining the EU, the country ranks second to last in the bloc in Transparency International's 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index – just ahead of Hungary.

Many protesters believe that two men in particular are responsible for the country's current state: Boyko Borissov, three-time prime minister between 2009 and 2021 and leader of the ruling GERB party, and oligarch Delyan Peevsky, who is sanctioned by both the US and the UK and whose DPS Novo Nachalo (New Beginning) party supports the current minority coalition in power.

However, as Shishkova told DW, removing them from power would be just one step in the broader fight against corruption. "It cannot be the solution itself," she said.

The two videos that ignited the protests
"All Bulgarians have heard since childhood how corrupt this country is and what the Borissov and Peevski model represents," Martin Atanassov told DW.

Atanassov is a student and youth leader who became known for creating an interactive map of all road accidents in Bulgaria, in an attempt to uncover structural problems related to road safety. He believes that for many young people like him, two videos caused a wave of frustration.

The first video showed ruling politicians passing a law regarding the assets of Russian oil firm Lukoil in Bulgaria following sanctions imposed by the US. The law was passed in just 26 seconds, in a race against time, in the absence of the opposition.

The second video showed a vote on the contested budget, which was held during the National Assembly's lunch break to avoid encountering protesters as they exited.

Both videos went viral and, says Atanassov, “became a symbol of the captured state.”

A political awakening
On the first night of peaceful anti-budget demonstrations, many young people took to the streets for the first time and shared their experience with friends.

Online engagement around the issue increased significantly. After the night of the December 1 protest, the number of users who engaged with protest-related content on TikTok in Bulgaria reached 488,000 people – 70 times more than usual – according to the Balkan Free Media Initiative, which was cited by the Bulgarian television channel bTV.

The message from the youth, which was used on many protest banners, was clear: "You angered the wrong generation."

Influencers, memes and protest anthems
"We find ourselves in a very difficult moment when you can't afford not to talk about politics when so many people identify with you," said influencer Andrea Banda Banda, who works in the lifestyle and entertainment fields, but has also shared political content with followers for the last five years.

Between ads for fashion brands, banks and mobile phones, she also shares her thoughts on democracy and the rule of law with her nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram.

Many of them told me that they attended a protest for the first time in their lives because of it. As users seek explanatory formats, influencers often fill the gap in news consumption on social media, where the universal language of Generation Z is unfiltered humor.

Protest anthems targeting Peevski, memes of opposition leaders shouting “Who ordered this outrage?” during a budget committee hearing, and banners like “Take your girlfriend on a date to the protest” help mix politics with pop culture.

"Ideally, it's much better to read a long analysis, but memes are a super-fast way to convey an idea," Andrea Banda Banda told DW, adding that "this is the first time that so many influencers have been involved in discussing the protests."

The political reality behind the memes
The new budget proposed by the government still foresees Bulgaria borrowing significant amounts of money and spending 45% of its GDP – an increase from around 40% compared to previous years.

Although the country has one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios in the EU, protesters fear that additional borrowing will enable the government to redistribute money unfairly towards the administration, hamper business growth and leave key sectors underfunded – particularly healthcare, where young doctors and nurses have been protesting for a pay rise all year.

According to Daniel Smilov, a political scientist and associate professor at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, tension had already been building, and the budget was the spark that fell on “very explosive material.”

While the government has tried to downplay the protests, labeling them as anti-euro ahead of Bulgaria's planned adoption of the currency in January 2026, the movement itself rejects this narrative.

The protests have brought together people from across the political spectrum, demanding the government's resignation. The cabinet now faces a no-confidence vote from the opposition PP-DB coalition later this week. "Without elections it will be difficult to move forward," Smilov told DW, adding that going to the polls may "not be immediate, but it will happen in the near future."