From second choice to first choice
Kristalina Georgieva’s double win at the EVawards.
In January Kristalina Georgieva was Bulgaria’s second choice as European commissioner. But second choice need not mean second rate, as her impressive double victory at the EVawards 11 months later confirmed. Georgieva was named the European Commissioner of the Year and went on to triumph as the overall European of the Year, helped by support from Bulgarian voters. The victory of Meglena Kuneva in the 2008 EVawards appears to have made the awards known to her domestic constituency.
But nationality was not an issue for the panel of experts that had nominated her. Georgieva has impressed in the reshaped portfolio of commissioner for co-operation, humanitarian aid and crisis response, winning plaudits for being a compassionate and authoritative voice for the EU after floods in Pakistan, earthquakes in Haiti and Chile and less visible disasters, such as hunger in Niger and conflict in Kyrgyzstan. Her confident grasp of policy detail and political common sense has impressed many in Brussels and beyond.
Receiving the award of European Commissioner of the Year, Georgieva described her job as both the best and the worst in the Commission. “I am the commissioner with the best job because what I do is in the cause of the most precious European values, that is, of solidarity of European people at home and abroad.” Her victory reflected the fact that eight out of ten Europeans are in favour of humanitarian aid, she said.
“I am also the commissioner with the worst job because there is so much pain and suffering in the world.” She dedicated her award to humanitarian aid workers – “What they do is a mission; it is not just a job…they are the heroes that deserve your applause,” she told the audience at the awards ceremony.
Collecting her second award as European of the Year to warm applause, the commissioner was visibly surprised. “I am simply out of words. The responsibility is heavy on my shoulders.”
Speaking afterwards to European Voice, she said her victory was a sign that “Europe is united and Europe is strong” because it had chosen a commissioner who embodies solidarity. The commissioner clearly relishes the practical nature of her work. She cited proudly the mission statement of her department: “It is four words – helping where needed most.”
Her double victory reflected her practical job, she suggested. “I believe that it is a reflection of this portfolio; it is a very practical portfolio, one in which one can see results. I can talk about citizens in a way they understand.
“I can talk [about] the mother of four kids, that we give them food from the European Commission and that that food makes the difference between her kids dying and having a future. And people understand that.”