How does is Serbia fighting against the "white plague" and why the biggest problem with the coronavirus epidemic is wedding receptions? In the new episode of #CoupletChorusRebuttals listen to how did the MPs oversee the work of the Government by asking these and many other questions.
Thanks to the President and the Government, Serbia received the vaccine and lives normally, and the biggest problem with the coronavirus epidemic is that wedding receptions are forbidden. These are, in short, the impressions from the session at which the MPs oversaw the work of the Government by asking questions to the ministers. Prime Minister Ana Brnabić included vaccines, economic progress and excellent moves made by her Government in every answer.
“People, look at what’s going on around us. Look at Europe. Look at the restrictions they imposed. Life there is not nearly normal. If you read the press like the Daily Mail, for example, the Netherlands is on the brink of civil war. In Great Britain, everything is closed, in Germany, everything is closed. We are leading an excellent fight.”
The coronavirus was the main topic, and the leader of United Serbia, Dragan Marković Palma connected it with the fight against the “white plague” and asked the crisis response team to allow people to have weddings with at least 150 guests. He chitchatted about it with the ministers of health, Zlatibor Lončar, and of agriculture Branislav Nedimović.
“Well I know at least twenty families who are waiting for measures to be cancelled. How are we supposed to fight the white plague? She’s sleeping at her dad’s; he’s sleeping at his dad’s. In the meanwhile, they fall out because of measures and the wedding is off.”
“I especially don’t understand what you’ve said about her sleeping over at her mom’s and him at his dad’s, because they didn’t get married. I haven’t heard yet that love is waiting for a signature, or for things like that.”
“What you’re telling us is reflected in the system HoReCa (hotels and restaurants). There’s nothing going on there. Nobody’s eating out. Our consumption of beef has dropped by 70 percent and the consumption of pork has fallen by 25 percent, but people, health comes first, come on.”
“In villages people live to see wedding parties, especially grandparents who say – I want to see my grandson getting married, I want to dance kolo (circle dance) and then I can die.”
The practice has continued that MPs most often ask questions to ministers from their own parties, that ministers give too long answers. The Serbian Socialist Party fellows Ivica Dačić and Minister of Education Branko Ružić even managed to joke about this.
“Ladies and gentlemen MPs...”
“It won’t be hard with Ružić, I’ll cut him off, but I don’t know what to do with the others.”
“You can only follow the Rules of Procedure, Mr. Speaker. We’re joking, of course. These are our private jokes. I think that the esteemed MP Dragan Marković…”
“You see that I can cut you off.”
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You have proved your power and I think it is good that the Serbian public knows who is the head of the Parliament.”
At this session, nine MPs from all parliamentary groups asked questions.
For the Open Parliament Mirjana Nikolić.