Bulgaria Socialists Still Split over 'Kuneva for President'

Meglena Kuneva, Bulgaria's former European Commissioner and candidate for president, continues to be an apple of discord for the members of the previously ruling Socialist Party, analysts say.

"The nomination of Meglena Kuneva is enthusiastically embraced and promoted by leader and former Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev, but the more conservative members of the party vehemently oppose it," professor Petar-Emil Mitev, a pollster, said in an interview for BGNES agency.

“Meglena Kuneva is the only winning candidature. This political compromise would spell the beginning of the end for GERB,” the pollster said, refering to the ruling party of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

"The scenario paves the way for early elections in 2012, which is not the case if a candidate of Borisov's party win,” he added.

Despite admitting that Kuneva is a very responsible person, key figures from the Socialist party have been saying that with so many worthy candidates among its ranks, there is no need to resort to a woman, strongly linked to the former king Simeon Saxe-Coburg and his party.

Meanwhile the party top brass recently approved a code, under which its presidential candidate should be popular in the European Union institutions, a loophole, which paves the way for embracing Kuneva's nomination.

Reports say the socialists fear that the nomination of Kuneva would drive away the core voters of the party, who will refuse to vote not only in the presidential, but in the local elections as well.

Some have even drawn parallels with the campaign of Bulgaria-born Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who was strongly supported by her predecessor Lula de Silva.

The previously ruling Socialist party, which was brought down by the center-right GERB of Boyko Borisov, will vote for its pair of candidates for president and vice-president at a congress in July.