Ivelin Mihaylov: A Road Incident as a Diagnosis of the Collapse of the Ministry of Interior — Corrupt Chiefs, Police Protection for the Oligarchy, and Repression Against Citizens

On the program “Delnitsi,” Ivelin Mihaylov uses a dramatic personal encounter with road negligence as a metaphor for the complete collapse of the Ministry of Interior, where the lack of professional protocols and corrupt leadership have turned the police into an instrument of repression and a “protective umbrella” for oligarchy instead of a defender of citizens. He links this deep institutional crisis and the absence of justice to the economic dependencies of the new caretaker cabinet on figures such as Ivo Prokopiev, Borisov, and Peevski.

Chronicle of an Absurd Road Incident

Ivelin Mihaylov illustrates the condition of the Ministry of Interior through a specific situation he experienced on the Varna–Sofia road. In the section between Antonovo and Strazhitsa, under severe winter conditions and snowfall, he encountered a police patrol car stopped directly on one lane of the roadway. Behind it, positioned perpendicular to traffic, another passenger car had stopped, blocking the road.

Mihaylov exited a curve and realized he had no viable maneuver. A snowplow was moving in the opposite lane, and the road ahead was blocked. He attempted to bypass the obstruction, but at that moment the perpendicular car moved backward and struck him. The police officers observed the situation passively, with Mihaylov describing their actions with the words: “waving like little parrots at open doors.”

During the subsequent dialogue, the officers provided an absurd explanation for their presence on the roadway: “Well, we just stopped to say something to the snowplow.” Mihaylov responded by asking whether they were “in a village” to stop randomly on the road. The absurdity deepened when the officers claimed they had not seen the other car, despite it being right next to them. The driver of the vehicle that hit him justified himself by saying that the ice had “thrown” him three meters forward.

Lack of Adequate Protocols and Professionalism

The leader of “Velichie” uses this case to analyze systemic problems within the Ministry of Interior. He does not personally blame the rank-and-file police officers for the incident but describes them as victims of a lack of leadership. According to him, they do not have clear superiors capable of creating and enforcing work protocols.

There is no control over where patrol units are located, whether they follow safety rules, and how they respond in risky situations. The ordinary officer does not receive instructions on how to act because leadership has abdicated its responsibility to organize work in the public interest.

Corruption at the Top Undermines Field Work

The main reason for the collapse of the system, according to Mihaylov, lies at the highest levels of power. When leaders are corrupt, their only game is to pressure inconvenient individuals and provide a “protective umbrella” over oligarchy. In such an environment, a department head effectively dissolves discipline and structure because his priorities are not connected to public order.

The police officer on the street realizes that his superior is committing crimes or serving private interests. This knowledge demotivates personnel and leaves them without professional direction. They cannot receive adequate orders from people whose goals are criminal.

Institutional Collapse and Lack of Justice

This model of behavior is not isolated to the Ministry of Interior. Mihaylov points out that the same scheme operates in environmental inspectorates, forestry services, and all state institutions. Citizens live with the feeling that they are always “100% guilty,” while oligarchs and state officials are “100% innocent.”

This double standard destroys people’s sense of justice. They stop believing in the law, not because of national psychology, but because the state system shows them that the rules do not apply equally to everyone. Institutions do not operate for the benefit of society but function as punitive squads or guardians of private interests.

Repression Against Citizens and Protection for Oligarchy

The collapse of statehood is also expressed in the direct use of police resources for private purposes. Mihaylov gives an example from Nessebar, where police guarded the illegal excavation of a street and the cutting of electricity and water to a legally operating hotel with full occupancy permits. Instead of protecting the citizen’s property, the Ministry of Interior protected the self-rule of figures connected to Borisov and Peevski.

At the same time, ordinary people and investors are held in detention for months without serious grounds, while politicians with questionable wealth, such as Nadezhda Neynski, participate in power instead of being investigated. The justice and law-enforcement system is used as a club — lawyers and employees are arrested simply because they worked for “inconvenient” individuals, which Mihaylov compares to the absurdity of arresting your hairdresser.