(SOFIA) - Bulgaria's government saw its ratings poll plummet in a poll released Thursday in the wake of the European Commission's decision to freeze more than 800 million euros in aid.

Only 13 percent of the 1,018 people polled by the MBMD institute said they supported the government, down from 24 percent in February.

It also showed that 37 percent supported right-wing opposition calls for early elections, compared to 26 percent five months ago.

The respondents were questioned after last week's decision by the Commission to suspend the subsidies because of what it said was the governments failure to tackle corruption and crime.

"The news from Brussels has filled people with indignation, they regret the fact that their country's image has been compromised," MBMD analyst Mira Yanova commented.

"Eighteen years after the fall of Communism, public opinion has gone back to where it was then. People distrust the institutions," she added.

Public discontent was also heightened by record high inflation that reached 14.7 percent in June, she added.

Barely 17 percent of those polled by MBMD said they were optimistic about their own future, compared to 26 percent in February.

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