President Rosen Plevneliev - the Bulgarian Dmitry Medvedev(?)

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev's first use of his veto power (which is not really a veto since it is only "suspensive") – on the Judiciary Act and the Forestry Act – unfortunately seem to be justifying the fears that Bulgaria's new President will hardly be independent from the person who literally appointed him for the job, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

Not so many people noticed that the news about Plevneliev's first veto as President was in fact broken by Borisov who declared that the President was about to impose a veto on the Judiciary Act, and that he (Borisov) supported it. (Good for Borisov for supporting a decision that most likely was made by him...)

The President's motives for vetoing the two pieces of legislation seem like a review or recycling of Borisov's position – a move that the Bulgarian Prime Minister often makes, the difference being that he is now using the President for that.

Not unlike many others, I harbor respect for President Rosen Plevneliev as a personality, and a business professional who also served successfully as Bulgaria's infrastructure minister.

To my deep regret, however, the fears harbored by all of us (I should probably include Mrs. Yuliyana Plevnelieva here) who didn't think it was a good idea to force a capable technocrat, who was in fact doing a good job (an exception in the Bulgarian government), into the highly political role of President of the Bulgarian Republic.

Few in Bulgaria seem to remember how PM Borisov announced the bid of the future President – how on a hot late summer afternoon Borisov stated that earlier in the afternoon he told Plevneliev that he (Plevneliev) would be the candidate of the ruling party GERB for the Presidency?

Between 2008 and 2012 I sincerely had fun reading and hearing how Western analysts were rushing to analyze the policies of then Russian President (now Prime Minister) Dmitry Medvedev – as if those policies were anything distinct from the policies of Vladimir Putin, the man who had temporarily crowned Medvedev as head of state through some basic constitutional maneuvering. Medvedev anyway remained Putin's least common multiple (regardless of the hopes of the various Western experts that were highly surprising to me).

But it's not that funny any more. Instead, I am now seriously wondering whether in Bulgaria's case I should still harbor hopes that President Rosen Plevneliev might not turn out to be the "Bulgarian Dmitry Medvedev" appointed temporarily to keep the President's seat until it's time for Boyko Borisov to run?

THIS ARTICLE IN BULGARIAN

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