Congratulations, Commissioner Georgieva! Bravo, Bulgaria!

It's a fair bet there was "not a dry eye in the house" when Kristalina Georgieva made her final remarks to the European Inquisition. There was certainly a hugely deserved round of applause as she rounded off a solid, indeed superb, performance at her European Parliament hearing.

If the assembly of MEPs had not already convinced themselves that she was worthy of the commissioner position, her emotional finale would certainly have done the trick.

Asked to say a few words at the end of the hearing, Georgieva simply thanked the assembly for a dynamic session, said she had noted all their suggestions and would respond to them, and - then - a tour de force, told her audience she was especially happy to be there on her mother's 89th birthday, and that she had promised her Mum that, if she got the job, she'd learn French!

Pure theatre; but she had worked hard, given a sterling and professional performance throughout her 3-hour grilling.

Georgieva had faced the full assembly of MEPs with confidence and sincerity. She was candid, she was honest, she expressed her answers well. So, she didn’t know about some details of a program -she admitted it, and said what she'd do to rectify the situation.

But she did have positive answers for almost all of the questions thrown at her - including the tricky ones, like having to explain why she would want to leave the World Bank for the Commissioner position. Georgieva managed instead to amply demonstrate that her experience gained at the Bank was highly relevant to the position she now sought - EC Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.

Throughout the hearing, she was convincing, saying at one point that this was one of those Commissioner positions that had really excited her - and one believed her. She proved she had absorbed the brief, that she had practical and detailed ideas for developing the humanitarian role, that she was conversant with logistic and financial parameters for effective delivery, and for the teamwork required within the EC and internationally.

She clearly impressed the assembly. One MEP (Michael Cashman) even withdrew his question, to state instead that they should move immediately to confirm her appointment.

There wasn’t long too wait for the result - the Development Committee unanimously approved Georgieva's appointment within ninety minutes. Meantime, Georgieva announced she was ready to start work within one week.

What a lovely day for Kristalina! And, what a marvellous occasion for Bulgaria!

An opportunity to take pride in having a Bulgarian lady make such a positive and dynamic impression at the heart of the European Parliament, Commission and Union. A day for looking forward, for once.

A day to sweep aside the national humiliation of the previous, embarrassing performance by Rumiana Jeleva, to move beyond recent talk of conflict of interests and incompetence, political plots and skullduggery.

A day for Bulgaria to join its President and Prime Minister in congratulating Kristalina. A day for Europe to realise that this small country is to be taken seriously, does have a significant part to play on the European stage, can provide a personality with huge expertise to engage in a vital role in the international arena.

And a day for squabbling Bulgarian politicians of all colors to reflect: who is really bearing the flag for Bulgaria, now, today? And, if they are brave and honest enough, to ask themselves what lessons they should learn from this brilliant achievement of Kristalina Georgieva.

Next stop, and first test for Georgieva - Haiti!

• 1