PM hospitalised:
Outgoing Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov has been hospitalised with high blood pressure, officials said on Wednesday, adding to a sense of political limbo before an interim government is appointed to take the country to early elections.
Borisov resigned last week after two weeks of sometimes violent protests by tens of thousands accusing the government of being a “Mafia” due to rampant corruption and its failure to improve living standards in the European Union’s poorest state. Demonstrators angry at high electricity prices attacked power company offices and three people set themselves on fire.
Hospital officials said on Wednesday Borisov was admitted with hypertension earlier this week, but should be discharged later in the day. A cabinet meeting due on Wednesday was postponed due the prime minister’s absence.
Borisov’s departure has failed to fully calm voters in a country where the average monthly wage is 400 euros ($520) and pensions less than half that. Demonstrations have continued on a smaller scale though large protests are planned for the weekend.
Other parties have declined to try to form a new government, meaning Borisov remains in office until an interim government is appointed, probably next week, which will take Bulgaria to elections expected in May.