Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov expressed his best wishes for President Georgi Parvanov, who is turning 51 Monday.

Borisov voiced his greetings in front of journalists at the opening of Bulgaria's first plant for recycling old electrical appliances in Novi Iskar near capital Sofia.

The Bulgarian prime commented that he had not yet talked to Parvanov but said: “May he be alive and healthy”.

The locution is a common Bulgarian formula for wishing all the best, but may also commonly be interpreted as ironic, implying that the speaker does not care too much about the dealings of the person referred to.

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, who is serving his second term in office (2007-12), was born June 28, 1957 in Sirishtnik village, close to west Bulgarian town of Pernik.

Since the coming to power of Borisov's center-right GERB government in July 2009, the two have been engaged in frequent exchanges and criticisms against each other.

Some observers have commented that President Parvanov is emerging as the main opposition voice in Bulgaria, since opposition parties in Parliament – the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms – have inadequate public support.

The institution of President of the Republic of Bulgaria is largely devoid of powers, especially compared to that of the Prime Minister, but nevertheless it is in a constitutional position to exert considerable pressure on other institutions and has frequently influenced public opinion in important ways.

The Bulgarian Constitution, Art. 92(1), mandates that “The President shall be the head of State. He shall embody the unity of the nation and shall represent the State in its international relations.”

Speculations are rife in Bulgaria about President Parvanov's political future after the end of his second and constitutionally last term in office. There is talk about a new leftist political “project” he might head.

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