Meglena Kuneva, formerly EU commissioner responsible for consumer protection, declined an offer from European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to lead the Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA), the EU executive's in-house think-tank.
On her Facebook account, Kuneva writes that she wanted to have "the freedom and the energy" to dedicate herself to building "a better Bulgaria [and] a better Europe".
"I was deeply moved by the proposal by [Commission] President Barroso, made some months ago, to continue work at the Commission in a high-level position […] In spite of this, I see my role as continuing to work as a politician," Kuneva wrote.
Barroso's choice?
Kuneva was one of Barroso's favourite members of his first team. He is said to have put a lot of effort into trying to keep her after her re-appointment was compromised by Boyko Borissov's victory in elections to the Bulgarian parliament (see 'Background').
Sources close to Kuneva told EurActiv that she could not take the job at BEPA because doing so would have caused conflict between the Commission president and Bulgarian Prime Minister Borissov. The latter reportedly sees Kuneva as the mastermind behind "a plot" to torpedo the appointment of Rumiana Jeleva as Bulgarian commissioner.
However, the 'plot' theory seems to overlook the fact that Jeleva flopped at her confirmation hearing in the European Parliament (EurActiv 13/01/10), which was seen as the main reason for her withdrawal a week later (EurActiv 20/01/10).
Apparently this was not how Borissov saw the situation.
"Borissov sees Kuneva as the enemy and if Barroso keeps her in his inner circle, he will end up having a prime minister of a member country as an enemy too. Barroso cannot afford that," a high-ranking Bulgarian representative told EurActiv.
The source added that in the current Bulgarian administration, anyone seen as being close to Kuneva fears a backlash from the vindictive prime minister.
Presidency bid 'possible' but 'not on the agenda'
Asked to comment on Kuneva's political future, Hristina Hristova, leader of the liberal NDSV party (see 'Background'), said the former commissioner could possibly represent the party in the next presidential elections, due in autumn 2011. NDSV's founder, Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha, has indicated that he will not run for president himself, Hristova added.
Kuneva was quoted by Bulgarian national television as saying that the presidential elections were not on her agenda for now.
Popular support for Kuneva is much higher than that of her party or for the former king, opinion polls show. Influential daily '24 chasa' suggests today that Kuneva will eventually run for president, but as an independent candidate, as her NDSV affiliation would represent a handicap.
Bulgaria's current president, Georgi Parvanov, is serving his second term and cannot be re-elected. No other names of potential candidates have been circulating so far.
The post of president is seen as ceremonial, but it can also play the role of a counterbalance in society, as shown by recent political experiences in the EU newcomer.
