The beginning of today's plenary session in the National Assembly was tense, after the Speaker of the Parliament Natalia Kiselova took the floor from the MP Ivelin Mihaylov from the "Velichy" party during a declaration.
The interruption came after Mihaylov began to present his party's position on several current topics, including the fight against fires, changes to the Road Traffic Act and the foreign policy positions of various political forces. According to Kiselova, Mihaylov violated the rules by speaking on topics that had already been discussed in the plenary hall and were on the agenda of the week's sessions.
“Mr. Mihaylov, I am taking your floor because you are violating the rules,“ the Speaker said. She referred to Article 48 of the National Assembly's Rules of Procedure, according to which chairmen of parliamentary groups can make declarations only once per session and on topics outside the current agenda.
Mikhaylov began his speech by criticizing the government for its handling of the fires in the country and specific cases of alleged abuses - including allegations of arson at landfills in the Dobrich region and a fire at a factory in the town of Sredets, which he said caused an environmental disaster with international consequences.
He continued with a comment on the declaration on Russia and Ukraine, criticizing representatives of various parliamentary groups for their position towards the ruling party. “It is clear that Boyko Borisov is sending Kostadin Kostadinov to sign an agreement with United Russia“, commented Mihaylov, referring to the controversial foreign policy line of “Vazrazhdane“.
The verbal escalation continued even after the microphone was cut off. MP Tsoncho Ganev from “Vazrazhdane“ asked for the floor and strongly objected to the chairman's actions, insisting that Mihaylov's speech was “exciting“ and should not have been interrupted. “We expected to hear what number of paint he uses when he dyes his head, and how he ruins summer tourism“, Ganev quipped, alluding to Mihaylov's statements on the topic of pollution of the Black Sea.
In her defense, Natalia Kiselova called on all parliamentary groups to re-acquaint themselves with the rules of procedure of the National Assembly. “I will recommend that all groups re-acquaint themselves with the provisions of the rules“, she said.
Mihaylov's statements also reflected the intra-party tensions in the opposition. He openly accused “Vazrazhdane“ in a two-faced position related to Euro-Atlantic journalism and tourism on the Black Sea coast. “Why is Kostadin Kostadinov taking Flora to Greece and eating banitsa, and not taking her to the Bulgarian Black Sea coast? They can rent a rowing boat to the pipe“, commented Mihaylov, referring to current videos on social networks.
The meeting continued with significant tension between the parliamentary groups, and the topic of the manner of conducting the meetings and the restrictions on declarations will likely be the subject of additional debates.