A portrait in the British press of the Bulgarian politician favoured to win the July 5 general election - Boiko Borissov, the leader of Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (abbreviated as GERB) - presents him as a hardman with a record of getting things done.

Anna Mudeva, writing in the Independent on Sunday, says that "hopes are now pinned on a bodyguard-turned-politician with cropped hair, a karate black belt and the epaulettes of a general".

The article goes on to say that Borissov's track record shows "he is an uncompromising man of action. He personally headed raids against drug traffickers and criminals when he was the interior ministry's chief secretary, and received the rank of general in the previous government".

The article continues: "As mayor of the capital, he has fired numerous officials from city contractors and agencies and prosecuted them on suspicion of fraud. Ordinary people like him because they say he is the only one at the top who does something and is not afraid to confront anyone. Always accompanied by his bodyguards, he has won hearts with his down-to-earth, often coarse, language. But to regain the trust of Brussels, Sofia will have to show that crime bosses too can be held accountable."