Bulgaria Socialists Mock Finance Minister with Allo Allo Pizza Menu

The opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) distributed Wednesday, before the second parliamentary budget 2010 reading, a leaflet looking like the menu of a pizza restaurant.

After they rejected the projected budget at first reading, the BSP Members of the Parliament staged a mockery of Finance Minister Simeon Djankov's presentation of the 2010 State Budget as a small, meatless, but well-apportioned pizza.

The pizza parlor is named “Allo Allo” a reference to the popular UK comedy series about World War II and the Nazi occupation of France. The front cover of the menu has a picture of the Chef, which is a collage of Djankov's face and the face of the “Allo Allo” character, Gestapo agent Herr Otto Flick, the Finance Minister's nickname given to him by the opposition.

The menu has 3 parts: “Big Ambitions in Small Pizzas,” “Main Pizzas,” and “Owner's Favorites,” while meals include “Anti-crisis – Misleading Pizza with Heavy Aftertaste,” “Projected Budget – Long-Awaited Pizza with Gullible Aftertaste,” and “Municipal Meager Pizza.”

The back cover reads: “Do not irritate the Chef, because he is nervous by nature. The owner is very sensitive and accepts only praise. He has the right to exert physical force if he is unhappy with the customers. As last resort – he can sent them to the Prosecutor. There are NO desserts – after all the barrel with honey is not for everyone.”

The BSP MPs say they made the leaflets with the help of the BSP youth organization, adding the price to produce them was BGN 200-300 and their distribution is an attempt to trigger a debate and any debate about the 2010 budget.

Finance Minister Djankov refused to accept the leaflet when handed to him, but said he looks at it with a sense of humor, especially knowing the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party budget is a “good” one.

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