Bulgarian Top Socialist Throws President Nominees Names

The leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and former Prime Minister, Sergey Stanishev, says the party's presidential nomination must be able to unite a large number of voters. Photo by BGNES

The leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and former Prime Minister, Sergey Stanishev, announced Friday two possible party nominations for the 2011 presidential elections – Ivaylo Kalfin and Stefan Danailov.

Kalfin is a former Foreign Minister, and now Member of the European Parliament, Danailov is a top Bulgarian movie and theater star and a BSP Member of the Parliament.

Stanishev did, however, warn it was too early to assume these nominations are final, and the issue is yet to be discussed by the party leadership.

"It is too early to commit to a name or even several names. We must find the right candidate. No one can compete with Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, in fast tongue, populism, reaction to the media. But to look for another Borisov is a cause doomed to failure. He will always win on those grounds," the BSP leader commented.

According to Stanishev, the Socialists must also decide should the nomination be purely a party one or would it be able to build bridges for a larger number of voters, adding if the elections were to be held now it would be very hard to put a strictly BSP nomination on the table.

The former PM met Friday with college students from the Student Association for the Study of International Relations. He further talked to them about the opposition's planned no-confidence vote, saying in addition to the failed health care reform, other grounds could include the constant violations of human rights on the part of the police and the legal system.

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