The nominations for the European list of the Bulgarian liberals (NDSV) were announced last week. The nominated are mainly women with high profile in politics, among them ministers, members of parliament and the Bulgarian commissioner Meglena Kuneva. Let’s see who exactly got nominated to take a shot at an MEP post.
First, there’s the present party MEP Bilyana Raeva.
Ms. Raeva has worked in the public administration before being surprisingly nominated to lead the NDSV list for the 2007 European elections in Bulgaria and subsequently become the party’s representative in the European parliament. What not many people know about Bilyana Raeva is that besides being an A student she was also a republican skateboard champion at school.
Second comes the lady who also came second in 2007.
Antonia Parvanova came just short of replacing Bilyana Raeva as NSDV’s only MEP - she needed just 5000 more voter preferences to come on top of the liberal list. Ms. Parvanova is a member of the Bulgarian Parliament now, serving her second term and medic by education.
The next in line is the Bulgarian European Affairs minister - Gergana Grancharova.
Just a week ago Gergana Grancharova married the former foreign minister Solomon Passi and changed her last name respectively. She’s been European Affairs minister since her predecessor Meglena Kuneva was appointment to be the first European Commissioner from Bulgaria in 2007.
Last but not least in this line of nominations comes Meglena Kuneva.
If the other three candidacies could be grouped under the nickname “The Beautiful” then Ms. Kuneva comes to represent “The Bold”. Nicknamed “Ms. Yes” during Bulgaria’s accession negotiations with the EU, she became a Commissioner in 2007 when the country finally joined the union. Rumor has it, she will be offered the first position in the party list for the European elections in June.
The funny thing is not too many men names were mentioned when the nominations became known, but hey, who needs men when and if such a list is put together? The only risk is that voters might think it’s all about a beauty pageant and not elections at stake. It will be up to the candidates to avoid blending the EU issues with the race for the crown in such a list.
P.S. To stop any speculations from the very beginning - I am NOT planning to vote for the liberals.
(19 votes, average: 4.32 out of 5)
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An commissioner in the voting lists is not a bad idea. And a minister - Mrs. Grancharova-Passy (a few weeks ago she married Solomon Passy, the Bulgarian candidate for NATO Secretary General) - it sounds great. But will just a nice-looking portfolio work? I doubt that.
Yeah I agree, really not a bad idea.
The PR effect is definetely guaranteed. What I’m concerned about is the usefullness of such a campaign in terms of voter education on the EU hot topics.
On the other hand, it might be a campaign in other terms… even though I am not very sure these BG girls are following exactly that line of action…http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/wallstrom/50-50-campaign-for-democracy/.
Still, one positive thing might be the actual engaging of the BG women to vote at the elections whether for these ladies’ agendas or against their portfolios, (hope not pro/con the colour of their handbags, but who knows?).
“The Bold and the Beautiful” model is working quite well in the US:
“…They have it all: exceptional talent, drive and smarts in an unstoppable combination”, this is what I had read about Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton, past and present US Secretaries of State.
Maybe BG girls want also to rise to the heights of power in the boy’s club of politics? What do you think?
Ms.Kuneva was Commissioner of the year 2008 so it is good thing to put her on the list. It should mean smth
There is a new trend Chris, I am telling you! In Lithuania, Grybauskaite will run for Presidency!
@ Eska
I personally don’t believe in quotas when it comes to democratic representation. Sounds too North Korean to me. What if there are 20 competent women fit to be European commissioners? Should we limit the number of women (or men) to 13 or 14?
@ Adriana
I believe Dalia Grybauskaite’s popularity at home has to do with the fact that she’s the highest ranking Lithuanian in Brussels as opposed to the unpopularity of the domestic government and not so much with her being a woman. Just my five cents.
One more point: In Romania, the ruling party is trying to come up with the list for the next EP elections. Among the ladies proposed for this list is the daughter of President Basescu, namely Elena Basescu. This stirred up the spirits in Romania as she is very young, apparently not that experienced and possessing as only attribute the family connection with the President who also used to be the Head of the rulling party. The debate got so far that other prominent females figures proposed by the party to run for EP have said that they will never join this list if the daughter of the President will be on the list…And I am referring here to prominent figures, intellectual women, coming from civil society organizations, etc…
here is the true conflict between the beauty (President’s daughter) and the bold (the ones opposing her).
For those familiar with Romanian politics, this metaphor is even more telling as the characters I am referring to really match the matrix…:)
I think that Eska made a good point. P.s Positive discrimination? Are you implying that quota for minorities sound ‘North Korean’ too
@ Adriana
Elena Basescu’s desires of being an MEP together with her apparent inexperience have become a topic even in Bulgarian press. It would be really sad if her efforts hinder the motivation of other prominent women to take part in the EP elections and moreover discourage voters from taking part.
@ Loki
As already mentioned, I don’t believe in quotas when it comes to democratic representation. There’s no quota for representation of African-Americans in the U.S. institutions but Barack Obama is president. There is a 10% quota for the Serbs in the Kosovo parliament, still they boycott it.
[...] историята й на български политик е на “Ms. Yes” като преговаряща по главите за присъединяване. [...]
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