A brawl erupted on Friday in Ukraine’s Parliament that was of unusual ferocity, even by the standards of the chamber, where fistfights are common.
The prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, had been answering questions at the rostrum and apparently angered a member of Parliament, Oleg Barna, with one response. Mr. Yatsenyuk had deflected a criticism of his cabinet’s energy policy by noting the energy minister is a member of Mr. Barna’s party.
Mr. Yatsenyuk, slender and bespectacled, is hardly an imposing opponent in a physical contest. But many burly allies from his party were present.
Mr. Barna approached the rostrum carrying a bouquet of roses as if intending to present them to the prime minister. The flowers were in the chamber because they were a birthday gift to another member of Parliament, who did not take part in the fight.
Mr. Barna handed the bouquet to the perplexed Mr. Yatsenyuk, then set upon him, apparently trying to lift and carry off the prime minister, who resisted only by clutching the wooden rostrum. The brawl ensued as supporters of Mr. Yatsenyuk rushed to his defense, and then fought with backers of Mr. Barna.
To many Ukrainians, such fighting is an embarrassment to their young democracy though it is also an emblem, however raw and cartoonish, of the pluralism in the Parliament that is so rare in former Soviet states.
After the fight, Mr. Yatsenyuk remarked that, “all is well, but there are many idiots.”
Mr. Barna said that, by lifting up the prime minister, he was demonstrating that Mr. Yatsenyuk would refuse to resign from his position unless he were carried away. “It’s not a European action, but we won’t overcome this evil any other way,” he told journalists.
Mr. Barna’s political party that is allied with President Petro O. Poroshenko voted to remove Mr. Barna from the party later Friday, and the head of the party apologized to Mr. Yatsenyuk. After the fight, Mr. Yatsenyuk continued to take questions.
