The proactive and public policy of Boiko Borissov’s Government in defending the rights of Bulgarians abroad has been warmly welcomed by a constituency who for years has been complaining about the disregard of its embassy.

Days after he was elected as Prime Minister, Borissov sent a plane to pick up a Bulgarian sailor from Iran who had been abandoned by his company in poor health. Now we have the case of 23-year-old Spaska Mitrova, a Macedonian citizen with a Bulgarian passport, who was jailed for three months.

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry reacted with unprecedented haste and asked its Macedonian colleagues for an explanation, triggering a diplomatic row. Statements by Borissov’s personal friend, Bozhidar Dimitrov, historian and cabinet minister without portfolio responsible for Bulgarian abroad, that Macedonia was trying to transfer its internal problems, its identity crises, to Bulgaria, only added to the frenzied media reaction in Skopje.

The appointment of Dimitrov, someone who often belittles Macedonia’s past, was a strong message from Borissov to Bulgaria’s neighbours. Hence Skopje’s reaction was scarcely surprising.

While the two cases have little in common – Macedonia-born Mitrova having only recently acquired Bulgarian citizenship – both reveal that Borissov will act whenever a Bulgarian passport-holder is in trouble. This is certainly praiseworthy but, as history has repeatedly demonstrated, politicians tend to overreact when under public scrutiny. One can only hope that this will not be the case with Borissov and that he will not act as a firefighter every time he sees smoke outside Bulgaria. Because firefighters are known for bringing destruction while putting out fires.