Personality in the News 2010

Personality in the News 2010

 22.31 % of votes

In 2010, Bulgaria's star striker Dimitar Berbatov saw his career in Manchester United take off. By December 2010 he topped the English Premiership scorer chart, after an unforgettable hattrick against Liverpool in September and five goals in a single match against Blackburn in November, among other strong games. United Manager Ferguson expects that Berbatov will be United's top scorer this season. Berbatov caused much controversy in early 2010 by deciding to quit Bulgaria's national football team after the side failed to make it to World Cup 2010. Also, in 2010, Berbatov became a father for the first time, with the birth of his daughter Dea.

 
 17.37 % of votes

Being the American Ambassador would always get you much attention but since his arrival in January 2010, James Warlick has become a “superstar” ambassador, with a very tangible presence in Bulgarian public life, taking active stand on various developments. In addition to contributing to a period of unprecedentedly good ties between Bulgaria and the USA, he has not hesitated to warn the government of the potential loss of American investments. Last but not least, he has made an impressive appearance in hit Bulgarian TV series “Staklen Dom” (“Glass Home”) playing the role of the American Ambassador in Sofia, thus becoming the first acting US diplomat to star in a movie, with the special permission of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

 
 22.71 % of votes

In February 2010, Kristalina Georgieva became Bulgaria's second ever EU Commissioner, and the first EU Commissioner on humanitarian aid. She saved the day for the Borisov government after the EC bid of Bulgaria's original nominee, ex Foreign Minister Rumiana Jeleva, failed over conflict of interest suspicions and a bad performance at the hearing. Georgieva, who had to quit her job as Vice President of the World Bank, has since ventured bravely with a goal-oriented approach in her new field spearheading EU humanitarian efforts in Haiti, Chile, Pakistan, Afghanistan, African countries, among others. She has emerged as perhaps the most popular Bulgarian politician. In December she won the "European of the Year" and "EU Commissioner of the Year" of prestigious newspaper European Voice.

 
 17.4 % of votes

Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, a former senior World Bank economist and a leading scholar, has been perhaps the most controversial Bulgarian Cabinet member. Praised by some for Bulgaria's macroeconomic stability, his austerity measures have been adamantly disputed by the business sector and syndicates, and have generated grim street rallies. While Djankov has the toughest job in a crisis-hit country, he has also made headlines with numerous controversial, scandal-stirring statements. In early 2010, as Bulgaria revised its 2009 deficit, he had to give up on his goal for a speedy euro zone entry. The end of the year saw him criticizing the EU for failing to prevent crises in Greece and Ireland, and reaffirming Bulgaria's euro adoption course. His 2011 state budget has been slammed as being overly optimistic; the long-term effect of his work remains to be seen.

 
 20.21 % of votes

In the summer and fall of 2010 France stirred an EU-wide controversy by expelling scores of Bulgarian and Romanian Roma living in squatter communities for being a public safety hazard. The international shock at Sarkozy and a crisis in EU-French relations wound down by the end of the year. Most of the expelled Roma were Romanians, and those sent back to Bulgaria were only about 100. This collective nomination seeks to emphasize that France's expulsion campaign underlines the vast proportions and complexity of the Roma issue in Europe, as well as the fact that the expelled Roma, unlike most other EU citizens, might face different treatment and fall pray to political goals. The Roma issue appears to have had wider repercussions reflected by emerging French opposition to Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen accession.

 

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