The fall of Bulgaria’s government provides an opportunity to overcome the country’s persistent corruption problem

The Bulgarian parliament was dissolved on 6 August 2014, with new elections being called for 5 October 2014. As Aneta Spendzharova writes, one of the key precipitating factors in the Bulgarian government’s collapse was a scandal relating to one of the country’s largest banks. She argues that the banking crisis is indicative of wider corruption issues within Bulgaria and that the new elections will provide an opportunity for voters to break with the problems of the past.

Other related url hyperlinks preview the election and discuss issues regadring the political situation in Bulgaria.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Bulgaria heads for early elections after EU vote http://www.europeansources.info/record/bulgaria-heads-for-early-elections-after-eu-vote/

ESO: Background information: Bulgarian parliamentary election, 2014 http://www.europeansources.info/record/bulgarian-parliamentary-election-2014/

Blog: LSE EuroppBlog, 25.09.14: Five minutes with Maria Spirova: “Party politics in Bulgaria has become completely nonsensical” http://bit.ly/1CjHntb

e-vestnik, 25.09.14: Borisov's re-election would disgrace Bulgaria (via Euro|Topics) http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/aehnliche/archiv_article/ARTICLE151021-Borisov-s-re-election-would-disgrace-Bulgaria

Trud, 01.10.14: Bulgarian voters stricken by apathy (via Euro|Topics) http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/aehnliche/archiv_article/ARTICLE151347-Bulgarian-voters-stricken-by-apathy

Blog: LSE EuroppBlog, 03.10.14: Bulgarian parliamentary elections: a final look at the parties and the polls http://bit.ly/1oGqsc5

Euronews, 30.09.14: Bulgarian election campaign nears climax http://www.euronews.com/2014/09/30/bulgarian-election-campaign-nears-climax/

Balkan Insight, 30.09.14: Right Tipped to Win Bulgaria's Early Election http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/poll-right-parties-to-dominate-in-bulgaria-s-parliament-1

openDemocracy: Can Europe Make It?, 04.10.14: Orchestrating democracy in Bulgaria https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/nikolay-nikolov/orchestrating-democracy-in-bulgaria

Blog: LSE EuroppBlog, 05.10.14: Bulgaria’s uninspiring election campaign is likely to lead to another hung parliament http://bit.ly/1vE4pqu

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