‘The Theater of the Absurd’: Parliamentary Debate on the Rules of Procedure Lasted All Night, Quoting the Gospel of Matthew

The parliamentary debate on amendments to the parliamentary Rules of Procedure, which began on Thursday just before midnight, lasted all night and continues into the morning as the opposition used their procedural right to a break after each discussion, protesting that their request to move the debate on this item to Friday morning was not met.

In the requests for breaks, the clubs of Most, SDP, Living Wall, and Voice alternated, after which the representatives spoke on various topics, diesel vehicles, waste, Dalmatian hinterland, teachers, GDP, LNG terminal, and even the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.

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“This is a historic moment, the Parliament has never sat longer than 3.25 hours,” stated Gordan Maras (SDP) and expressed hope that the ruling party would understand that nothing can be achieved by force.

His party colleague Aresen Bauk called the entire situation of debating all night a theater of the absurd.

“This should not have happened,” said Robert Podolnjak (Most), adding that he had prepared for the topic of changing the Rules of Procedure for a long time, approached it seriously, and found it unusual to discuss it in the early morning.

The stubbornness of the ruling party to decide when we will debate has now backfired on them, stated Anka Mrak Taritaš (Voice). She also believes that the proposed provisions of the new Rules of Procedure will be difficult to implement, such as the right to only three replies.

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Nikola Grmoja (Most) predicts that the debate on the Rules of Procedure will drag on until noon.

Earlier during the debate, following the opposition’s criticism that Željko Reiner could not simultaneously be the chair and the proposer, the chairmanship was taken over again by Milijan Brkić.

In a debate interrupted by breaks, references to violations of the Rules of Procedure, and a series of replies, the opposition criticized the proposal, believing that the amendments aim to silence them and limit their freedom of speech or criticism of the Government, while the HDZ claimed that it only wants to improve the quality of parliamentary debates.

During the debate, Most’s Miro Bulj came to the podium with a bandage over his mouth. With the bandage stuck on, he remained silent for a minute and then stated, “You will not prohibit us from speaking by introducing a bandage in the Rules of Procedure.”

Regarding the amendments to the Rules of Procedure, he said they diminish rights and prohibit representatives from speaking, reminding him of totalitarian times. He added that this is not only the case with parliamentary representatives but also with journalists, mentioning HRT journalists Tihomir Dujmović, Maja Sever, and Milorad Šikanjić. He called for the debate on the amendments to the parliamentary Rules of Procedure to be moved to Friday for the sake of democracy and freedom of speech.