Victory in Bulgaria

SOFIA, Bulgaria: In Sofia, the cry was "Victory!" When President Petar Stoyanov emerged from a four-hour meeting to announce that the Socialists had agreed to step down and allow new elections in April, he was hoisted on the shoulders of supporters, and Bulgarians ended 30 days of protests to erupt in celebration. Bulgaria's next Prime Minister, says TIME's Massimo Calabresi, will almost certainly be opposition leader Ivan Kostov of the United Democratic Forces. But what relief his term will bring is uncertain. "Kostov is a former finance minister with the UDF," Calabresi noted, "and at the time, he fared little better with Bulgaria's economic problems than the Socialists have since." More encouraging, says Calabresi, is the "actively pro-market" reform package that Kostov presented in vain to the Socialists in January." Some skepticism remains, though, how devoted he is to the kind of drastic 'shock treatment' reforms that have worked in Central Europe, and that need to be adopted here." On Tuesday, the 100,000 people gathered in central Cathedral Square were not to be reminded of their troubles. "It's wonderful!" rejoiced Gergana Doychinova, one of thousands of students who danced around bonfires in the streets. "It means freedom . . . bread, meat, everything."