Skeletons in the Closet

Novinite Insider » EDITORIAL | September 30, 2005, Friday // 00:00

By Despina Koleva

While still in office, Sofia mayor Stefan Sofianski holds a meeting with a bunch of residents. He smiles.

Sofia residents think, "Sofianski's smiling-everything must be OK."

Sofianski thinks, "Sofia residents see I'm smiling-everything must be OK."

The joke was popular at the time Sofianski was still a Sofia mayor, probably not even dreaming of becoming an European Parliament (EP) observer. Yet here we are in September 2005, sending the rightist on his way to flashing broad smiles around the spacious EP chambers.

But an unexpected nuisance has cast a gloom upon Sofianski's debut in contemplating European Union (EU) lawmaking. A skeleton has crept out of the former mayor's closet, allegedly threatening Bulgaria's EU accession. On Tuesday Chief Prosecutor Nikola Filchev requested the renewal of a case for
malfeasance in office against Sofianski. The case concerns a deal with a Sofia central department store.

And if you thought the situation couldn't possibly get more embarrassing for Sofianski, you were wrong. It can. The ex mayor, who currently represents one third of the leadership of Bulgaria's tiniest rightist faction in Parliament, has two more skeletons hiding or, more precisely locked up, in his closet.

Sofianski has been sued in a total of three cases over the same charges, namely-malfeasance in office. And while parliamentary groups at the 40th National Assembly have rushed to form a commission to figure out what to do with Filchev's immunity strip demand, the rightist demonstrated composure, accompanied by an enviable absence of mind. Sofianski has declared that the renewal of the case might affect Bulgaria's EU integration.

I do not engage in commenting the former mayor's statement. However, it seems to me that having an EP observer with a history in court is a matter debatable enough to worry about details as immunity strip. For a toothpaste-ad smile is not enough to convince the EU of both Bulgaria's and Sofianski's integrity.

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