Ecstatic Bulgarians Want Georgieva for President

EurActiv

Kristalina Georgieva, the EU's humanitarian aid commissioner, has won the coveted title of 'European of the Year' and "Commissioner of the Year', awarded by Brussels-based media European Voice, triggering pride and enthusiasm in her home country Bulgaria.

Internet forums were overflowing with calls for Georgieva to run in next year's presidential elections after the Bulgarian commissioner was awarded the two prizes on Tuesday (30 November).

At the time of publication, an article about Georgieva's awards in the daily Dnevnik, EurActiv's partner in Bulgaria, already had 335 comments from readers.

Georgieva told EurActiv she was extremely proud that her country, which joined the EU in 2007, had snatched the prize for the second time.

Indeed, Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, a Bulgarian, had already been named 'Commissioner of the Year' in 2008. This year, Georgieva did even better by also scooping the title of 'European of the Year'.

Other titles awarded in 2010 included European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, who won in the category 'Official of the Year,' while UK Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg won in the category 'National Politician of the Year'.

Georgieva played down her achievement, saying she felt the prize had come as a reward for work still outstanding, citing humanitarian crises in earthquake-hit Haiti, where a cholera epidemic has already claimed 1,600 lives.

She said problems in addressing the Haiti disaster stemmed from the country's extremely low level of development. Her goal, she added, will be to build bridges between relief operations and longer-term development issues addressed by Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.

Asked if she was interested in running in presidential elections in her home country due in autumn 2011, she said she still had "a lot to do" in her current position, "with so many people dying" in disaster areas. She said her current position was a responsibility she had assumed vis-?-vis her own nationals and Europeans in taking on the job of commissioner last February.

Back then, Georgieva scored high marks at a European Parliament confirmation hearing, earning repeated applause from MEPs across party lines and paving the way for the approval of the Barroso II team.

Georgieva, who was a World Bank vice-president until then, became commissioner almost by