Is Tsetska Tsacheva a Warm-Up for Boyko Borisov's Presidential Term in 2021?

Tsetska Tsacheva, the Bulgarian Parliament Speaker, is the main ruling party GERB's nominee torun in the presidential elections on November 06.

Proposed by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov who is the leader of GERB, she was tipped as a victor even before her identity was revealed, withopinion polls which showed over fifty percent of voters would cast a ballot for the candidate of Borisov's party, regardless of who is running.

Judging Borisov's plans, Tsacheva is seen as a "warm-up" for the time he enters the presidential race in 2021 as he has already declared intention to run for the office in five years.

But recent polls have suggested a tight race with her main opponent, socialist-backed candidate Rumen Radev, in the first round and a possible loss in the runoff vote.

Like most of the other candidates, she has been criticized for a lackluster performance in the campaign and not managing to send strong messages other than unity and the need to keep Bulgaria on the EU and NATO track.

Together with Radev, she has also sparked anger among other candidates by not showing up at debates among the handful of frontrunners.  

Tsetska Tsacheva has presided over the National Assembly of Bulgaria two times - in the first cabinet of Boyko Borisov (July 14, 2009 - March 14, 2013) and in the second one (starting October 17, 2014).

She was elected Parliament Speaker by an overwhelming majority of lawmakers, with 227 people having voted "for" and three having abstained. A similar support for her second Parliament Speaker candidacy was gathered in 2014, when 219 MPs voted for her, 12 against, and one abstained.

Tsacheva, who is a member of GERB's Executive Committee (the party's top decision-making body), had been tipped for a...