EU politician Meglena Kuneva to run for president

Meglena Kuneva: "My party is Bulgaria!"

 

The first Bulgarian EU commissioner Meglena Kuneva officially announced today that she will be running for president in the upcoming elections.

She announced her decision to put herself forward as an independent candidate and assured journalists that she won't be seeking support from any of the parties on the Bulgarian political scene: "I am not going to knock on the door of any political party in search for support. My party is Bulgaria! It cannot be right-wing or left-wing. Education cannot be party-political, nor can culture or even the economy. " She added that if caring for the vulnerable in the society and working towards a welfare state would be considered a left-wing policy, it would be balanced by guiding the economy with a firm hand and supporting business development.

Kuneva stated that she will work towards the unification of the people, the return to law and order, the development of education and culture, tackling the demographic crisis and the state-funded health care as well as improving Bulgaria's image on the world political and economic stage.

However, the presidential post in Bulgaria has primarily representative functions and some may consider her goals to be unrealistic. Responding to the challenge, she said: "I cannot say that in five years time our education system will be perfect. That 100% of the Bulgarian pupils will A-star students. I cannot tell you that in five years time the Bulgarian text books will be the best or that our universities will be among the top 10 in the world. But what I can tell you is that we will make a huge progress."