Bulgarians meet Year of the Rabbit sceptically

2011 is the Year of the Rabbit, according to Chinese Astrology. And this means luck, experts say. The rabbit is diplomatic, vital and creative. In other words, the Bulgarians will need those qualities to overcome 2011.

The peaceful rabbit will bring us justice, love and trust, Chinese astrologists say. They also foresee that the events within the next 12 months will develop slowly, step-by-step and as expected. Being a Year of the Tiger, 2010 was hard and stressful to people all over the world. The main question for the Bulgarians now is whether they will be able to take a breath and see the end of the economic crisis. The people’s attitude to that issue is more negative. Social research data showed end December that the average Bulgarian didn’t expect anything good for the forthcoming 12 months. However, one should bear in mind that people in this country are used to doubt in everything. This pessimism can be explained with the fact that this country is the poorest in Europe with one of the most aging populations. On the other hand the economic crisis will continue to worry us in the year of the sensible rabbit, research data shows. Experts were glad to discover the first tiny marks for end of the recession at the end of last summer. However, this trend didn’t affect significantly the population’s incomes or its public attitude. Unemployment and lack of money continue to be the biggest problem in the beginning of 2011, 2/3 of the Bulgarians say. The crisis is the main thing now, while only a year and a half ago that was organized crime. The skid health reform, the implementation of the unpopular model of late retirement, the political fights and the series of governmental gaffs push away the electorate, analysers warn. A year and a half ago the GERB party, headed by former Sofia mayor Boyko Borissov promised a future that nowadays looks more and more vague to many citizens. Social research data shows that the ratings of the government, the Parliament, the president and the PM are going down. Only 1/3 of the Bulgarians support the cabinet now, while in 2009 the majority of the population trusted the new rulers. The charismatic persona of PM Borissov also faces negativism. His rating was unique 18 months ago and even some of the most successful European leaders could envy him, while for the past few months the trust towards him has shrunk with around 20 percent and now some 44 percent of the Bulgarians declare their trust in the PM. As a whole, people are hopeful for the government that shows will to do reforms and fight corruption. That is the reason why GERB has no current alternative as a ruling party, research data shows. However, we shouldn’t forget the forthcoming local and presidential elections that will take place in the Year of the Rabbit. It looks like the fight for the trust of the electorate will be a severe one, although citizens tend to believe less and less in empty promises, manipulations and populism. Let’s hope that the wise and calm rabbit will pull the passions together and will make the Bulgarians more pragmatic and stable from personal and public point of view.