Former Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov (L) met with President-elect Rosen Plevneliev (R)on Thursday. Photo by BGNES
Bulgaria's President-Elect Rosen Plevneliev is fully prepared to step in office, according to the country's former President Petar Stoyanov (1997-2002).
"I just became acquainted with Rosen Plevneliev. Honestly, I believe that he is fully prepared to step in as President. I appreciate the fact that he listened and asked questions on topics he considered important," Stoyanov commented on his meeting with the President-elect on Thursday.
"A good listener can achieve a lot," Stoyanov pointed out. He wished Plevneliev to maintain his "openness to all people" and reminded him that a President always has things to learn.
"Europe is facing tough challenges now and I am to some extent glad that someone from Plevneliev's generation is becoming president," Stoyanov added, according to BGNES.
"I will admit that there was chemistry between us right from the start of our conversation," the President-elect revealed after he met with Stoyanov.
Bulgaria's former President Petar Stoyanov is one of the emblematic figures of the right-wing Union of Democratic Forces and the country's transition to democracy. He openly supported Plevneliev in the presidential election runoff at the end of October, when the President-elect was facing left-wing Bulgarian Socialist party candidate Ivaylo Kalfin.
Former Regional Development Minister Rosen Plevneliev, a 47-year-old technocrat, was backed by the governing center-right GERB party of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov