The protests in the country have shown that the citizens’ discontent is not related only to high electricity prices – they are the cause of social tension, but not the reason for it. The problems are more complex and have to do with the overall poverty, unemployment, and the diminished trust of citizens in politicians and institutions. GERB is now in a new and unexpected situation, connected to the pre-election environment. High levels of unemployment, low incomes, the bankruptcy of hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises, the existence of monopolies in a number of sectors of the economy, the poor results of the fight against corruption and organized crime are topics that will be addressed by the opposition during the campaign and answers will be required from GERB. The main challenge for BSP is whether it will manage to ride the wave of protests in the country. The demands of voters can be determined as left-wing, but what weighs on BSP at the moment is that many people determine it as a party of the status quo. Stanishev is making efforts to renew the party ranks, relying on new and young faces, while politicians of the transition remain in the background. From today’s point of view, it is hard to make a clear prediction on the outcome of the election. The protests in the country introduced a new element to the political situation. No one knows if and to what extent the protest vote of the citizens will go to some of the new formations, established by leaders of the protests, but there is potential for this. For now it is certain that there will be five parties in Parliament: GERB, BSP, MRF, Bulgaria of the Citizens’ Movement and the Attack Political Party(Attaka). Фондация Фридрих Еберт Бюро България Анализи