In the parliamentary history of Bulgaria, the current 45th National Assembly will be remembered for its scandalous speeches and short life. There was no way to see a legislative program, and everything was aimed at changes in the Electoral Code.
In recent years, there has been a lack of speakers and legislators to leave a mark on lawmaking. What is the reason for the experts to stay in the background at the expense of politicians, why has the spirit of parliamentarism disappeared and what are the expectations for the new caretaker government of the president. On these issues “Labor” talks to Prof. Ognian Gerdjikov.
– The 45th Parliament did not spend a month, Prof. Gerdjikov. How will you remember him? How will he remain in history?
– I will remember it with what everyone will remember it – as the shortest existing Parliament in our recent history. Secondly with the unsightly riots, but this is not something unseen in the world. There are parliaments where MPs fight each other. Thank God we haven’t gotten her there yet.
– We saw the scandals and the rude language, what would you say about the legislative program of this National Assembly?
– The legislative program was overly ambitious. Pathologically ambitious, I would say. It was in complete dissonance with the possibility of the Assembly accepting anything meaningful in this short passage that it turned out to have. Everyone wanted to prove that he was “better, better.”
– You have often shared your pain from the lack of quality laws, from their adoption in Yurush, from the many changes that are made to existing laws. What is the reason for this – each party in power has its own interests, or so can the deputies – I’m talking about the quality of the legislators themselves?
– If something is particularly contraindicated in the legislative process – it is speed. It’s like lifting 200 km per hour in the center of Sofia, including around the corners.
The catastrophe is inevitable. I don’t know of any other country in the world that changes the rules so often, in the middle of the game. This creates extreme uncertainty in the economy. This has led to a serious outflow of investors from Bulgaria, especially in the last 10 years. For me, it is one of the biggest ulcers that undermine our development.
– What you say is obvious, you yourself have warned many times, but your voice remained as in the desert. Would you illustrate with examples?
– Here is an illustration that is indicative enough – the Social Security Code (CSR), which has been in force since 1 January 2000. This Parliament tabled and adopted at first reading its 139th (in words: one hundred and thirty-ninth) amendment !? !! This is an absolute world record. From this point of view, the socialist legislator was much more careful about the legislative process.
True, the laws before November 10 served a different political system, but they were stable. The Personal and Family Act and the Inheritance Act, both of 1949, the Obligations and Contracts Act, 1950, and the Property Act of 1951, which are in force to this day, have a total of 70 years. many times less changes than CSR, which is 20 years old.
– Looking at what is happening in this and in the previous National Assembly, people with more life experience certainly grieve for such brilliant lawyers in style, such as Mr. Ginyo Ganev and Prof. Lyuben Kornezov (God forgive them), like Mr. Alexander Djerov, Mr. Yordan Sokolov, not to forget you, Prof. Gerdjikov. If in the first years of democracy politicians had the floor, why do they still have the word today and not listen to the experts?
– You ask a rhetorical question. We have no respect for professionalism, for expertise. Every second person knows more about COVID-19, whether it exists, whether it does not exist, whether we should get vaccinated, whether we should not …, from the scientists in this field – from those who have dedicated their lives to medical science. Approximately the same is the case with the legislation – aerobatics in law.
I know how laws are drafted in some of the most developed countries in the world – those in the German legal community – Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Believe me, it has nothing to do with the way it is done in our country. There, professionalism is a cult. And with us there is unjustified self-confidence and enthusiasm of amateurs.
– You know, and 15-20 years ago there was opposition, but things were much finer and more elegant, well – there was entry with the buttons, as they say, but these were deliberate moves, there was a rivalry between parliamentary groups and their lawyers, and in the last 4-5 parliaments it’s just scary. Who is to blame for this condition?
– I am glad that you noticed that 15-20 years ago it was different. You could initiate a survey among businesses in our country – when they felt most comfortable. At the same time, check when we had the most foreign investments in our country. It is again in this period. I think that speaks for itself.
– There is no spirit of parliamentarism, there is only the sharp and ugly face of political opposition, which we have seen for more than 10 years.
– If I have to summarize in one sentence – we are especially strong in negation and destruction, and weak in creation.
– We dreamed a lot, so let me bring you back to our reality – in recent days there have been big scandals, especially one related to the businessman grain – Ilchovski, who accused the Prime Minister and Minister Avramova of asking him for a bribe. How do you see this case, because it sounds very scary, if all this is true?
– Damihifactum, dabotibiius (give me the fact and I will give you the right) – this is an old Roman legal sentence. I have no way of knowing whether Ilchovski wanted the bribe or not. They may have pressed him, but they may not have. But I do not rule it out.
– Tomorrow (Tuesday) the president is expected to issue several decrees – for the elections, for the caretaker cabinet, for the CEC. And the roulette to start spinning again. Are we entering a spiral of elections, are absolutely different results possible from those that passed only a month or so ago?
– I hope I am a bad prophet, but it seems to me that we are entering a long-term political crisis. The next elections will not give a radically different picture. At most, another 1-2 political formations will enter, with a handful of deputies each, which will most likely lead to the same loop. The reason for all this is that in our country the party interest is above the national one.
Twenty years ago, NMSS ignored its party interest and formed a coalition with the MRF, because the UDF, our natural political partner, refused to lend us a hand. The result of the party-political compromise is membership in the European Union (vital for our country) and, unfortunately, a collapse in confidence in the NMSS, which gradually disappeared from the political scene, but fulfilled its national mission.
– The adopted changes in the Electoral Code include machine voting only in sections over 300 people. In recent days, there have been shocking things about these machines – for cases in Venezuela, etc. Do you think that this can really spoil the vote in any way?
– There are people who understand much more than me from elections and election technologies. But the question arises in me – why did Europe abandon the machine vote? Why, since in Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere, where there was machine voting, it is no more. Twelve years ago, the German Constitutional Court explicitly overturned it. Is it a coincidence?
Is it a coincidence that in only a few countries in the world that do not shine with much democracy, there is an all-machine vote in force – Bhutan, India, Brazil and Venezuela. Those who understand the matter are concerned that this could not only make voting more difficult, but that there is a potential danger of the system “bugging”. Software professionals know how it can be done. And maybe that’s what they’re waiting for.
– I can not help but ask you about the idea and the request to close the specialized court and prosecutor’s office. You need to have an iron opinion on this topic – what is it?
– It may sound strange, but I’m not very strong in the judiciary. I haven’t been in court in almost half a century when I was a trainee judge. But what I do know is this: this does not close courts!
I accept that there may be problems in their functioning, but are there no problems in the other segments of the judiciary? So should we solve them by liquidating them? I don’t know why it resembles Stalin’s philosophy:
“There is a man – there is a problem. There is no one – no problem. ”I have never heard of public debates between professionals, of questions about possible weaknesses, dependencies, etc. How can they be eliminated? And suddenly – we will close them. It’s like a fight with an awkward jurisdiction.
– You were the caretaker Prime Minister, now we are going to see a new caretaker government, what are your expectations for him, how long can he work – although his work is written in the constitution?
– I mentioned that in my opinion, we are only at the beginning of a prolonged political crisis. Official management may be required for many, many months.
Not that it’s the scariest thing in the world. Belgium and Israel, two orderly and very successful countries, know best what political crises are. Benjamin Netanyahu once again failed in his attempt to form an Israeli cabinet. In two years, Israel will hold the 5th consecutive parliamentary elections. But the country is not about to close at all. Well, it works quite well.
– Bulgaria and Israel are two different universes in politics, and not only in it, Professor … But let’s say why does the country function there?
– It works because it has an economy and education, and health care, and … everything you need. And they function because there is, above all, stable and high-quality legislation. The situation is similar in Belgium.
And she was in recurring political crises. But it neither disappeared nor closed as a state. Until the end of last year, they were without a regular government, breaking their own record in this regard. The division between the Flemings and the Walloons seems irreconcilable, but the country in which they are at war is the heart of the European Union and functions in spite of the problems of forming regular cabinets.
– What do you think this cabinet should and can do beyond the preparation and holding of fair elections? Do you have expectations – are they more positive or more negative?
– It is known that the caretaker cabinet is limited in terms of powers, as there is no Parliament and there can be no legislative initiatives, budget updates, etc. similar. But, nevertheless, the official cabinet can do a lot for Bulgaria.
An example in this regard is the office of Stefan Sofiyanski, which, in addition to preparing early parliamentary elections, calmed the political situation in the country and at the same time stabilized the financial system and the Bulgarian lev. This was achieved through an extremely timely and important decision to introduce a Currency Board in Bulgaria (the so-called Currency Board).
So, I hope that President Rumen Radev will be able to select the optimal composition of the caretaker government, which, in addition to fulfilling the current tasks, will not allow tremors, but will stabilize our country. She needs that. There really is a need for this.
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