Bulgaria Ex PM Filip Dimitrov on Run for President: No, No, No

Filip Dimitrov is an emblematic figure of the right-wing Union of Democratic Forces and Bulgaria's transition to democracy. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Filip Dimitrov, who became at the end of last year the first officially appointed EU ambassador, has firmly denied he may join the race for the presidential office on the ticket of the ruling party.

"The short answer to this question is "no". No, no, no," Dimitrov said in an interview for Standard daily.

"I find it childish for anyone to want to be a candidate. In order to win the elections one must know for sure how he can contribute to the welfare of the people and meet their needs at that particular moment."

"I do not think at this point my nomination could lead to any significant processes of renovation or unification," added Dimitrov, a right-wing politician, who headed in 1991-2 what has been widely perceived as the least corrupted Bulgarian government ever.

Dimitrov is serving as EU's ambassador to Georgia after passing with flying colors a discussion at the European Parliament.

A lawyer by profession, he chaired 1990-1994 the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), the main rightist political movement in Bulgaria in the 90s. He was Bulgaria's first rightist PM after the transition 1991-2. From 1997 to 1998 Dimitrov was Bulgaria's envoy to the UN, and then 1998-2001 he served as the country's ambassador to the US.

Dimitrov is the second emblematic figure of the Union of Democratic Forces and the country's transition to democracy, who appear to have turned down the invitation of the ruling center-right party GERB to run for president on its ticket.

Last week former Bulgarian President and former UDF leader Petar Stoyanov denied reports he may the candidate picked by the ruling party of Boyko Borisov.

"I am not the ruling party's candidate for president. This issue is not on my agenda and I have no ambitions to be back at the presidential office," Styoanov said and voiced full support for Rumen Hristov, vice-chair of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) and presidential candidate of the rightist Blue Coalition.

UDF has been in a steady decline since 2001, when the party lost the general elections following four years of needed, but painful reforms.

It never recovered from the shock, splitting into smaller parties since then, progressively losing ground in public opinion polls, which show it could fail to make it into the next parliament altogether.

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