Bulgarian Leader Quits Amid Economic Chaos

Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov and his government of former Communists resigned today, bowing to unrelenting pressure from the streets and the halls of parliament.

The Socialist premier, blamed for the Balkan country’s political and economic anarchy, said union and political opponents had made it impossible for his government to implement its economic reform program.

“For me, it is therefore pointless to remain at the premier’s post, and . . . I resign my office,” the state BTA news agency quoted him as saying.

No replacement was immediately named for Lukanov, one of the reform-minded Socialist Party members who helped oust longtime Communist leader Todor Zhivkov last November. Lukanov, 52, was appointed premier in early February.

Lukanov’s resignation had been expected since he and other political leaders struck a deal in talks to end their stalemate that has prevented the country from tackling its worst postwar crisis.

The accord was struck in a meeting called by President Zhelyu Zhelev, as a nationwide strike entered its fourth day and streets filled with thousands of people demanding an end to political turmoil and economic hardship.

Electricity is rationed in Sofia and elsewhere. Many basic consumer items are either rationed or unavailable. The country cannot make payments on its $11-billion foreign debt.

The political stalemate has blocked officials from moving quickly to improve the economic situation.

The former Communist Party, which ruled Bulgaria for four decades, renamed itself the Socialist Party during the pro-democracy movements that swept Eastern Europe late last year and went on to win June elections.