Bulgarian Royal Family 1: 2003 - March 2007
Associated Press
SOFIA, Bulgaria - Former King Simeon II, crowned as a child and forced into exile during the communist years, vowed to improve dismal living standards in 800 days when he returned to Bulgaria as prime minister in 2001.
But what began as a 21st-century fairy tale had an unhappy ending Wednesday as the 800-day pledge expired with many Bulgarians feeling betrayed -- and no better off.
"It was a bluff," snapped Dimitar Petkov, a 77-year-old retiree living on a $100-a-month pension.
"This suit is from my son. This tie is from my grandson. These shoes, too. Without their support, we could not survive."
Simmering anger over entrenched poverty has thrown into question the future of the prime minister, now known as Simeon Saxcoburggotski, or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
The former Soviet satellite hopes for European Union membership by 2007.
Unemployment, officially 13 percent, is unofficially pegged at 20 percent, and the average monthly salary is just $140.
Posters plastered around the capital, Sofia, capture the frustration: "800 Days. 800 Lies. Enough!"
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History is powerful stuff. One day your world is fine. The next day it's knocked for a metaphysical loop. Was Napoleon really at Waterloo? Would that change for what I had for breakfast? - Anonymous
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10-03-2003, 06:59 PM
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