Political Corruption in Bulgaria after 1989 Essay

Political Corruption in Bulgaria after 1989 - Essay Example Though showing some improvement in the recent years, Bulgaria holds the shame of being labeled as the corruption capital of Europe. It is the corruption at the political level that is most dangerous in the country. All political parties operate with an open funding system. Such a condition, with no obvious management, surely encourages corruption. However, some facts and figures will show the 'politics' behind Bulgaria's corruption. In an attempt to modernize the nation's economy, the communist government enforced different industrialization programs. Until democratizing reforms began in 1989, Bulgaria remained a communist country. The Bulgarian nationalism underwent a drastic change since its first multi party elections in 1990 (U.S.-Bulgarian Relations, 2008). But the transition from the communist rule to a free market economy was not easy. The introduction of Banking reforms, and program to privatize state-owned assets turned out to be challenging issues. Due to the fall of communism, the country lost all its Soviet market. The Bulgarian goods could not find a good market. It led to a substantial contraction of the financial system. The rising inflation and unemployment became major problems. To add oil to the fire, the Bulgarian government had to battle with the uncontrolled corruption at all levels of administration. In the last two decades, Bulgaria underwent complet... In the last two decades, Bulgaria underwent complete political transformation. It is imperative to say that the political transformation has contributed much to the restructuring of the nation's entire mechanisms. On the other hand, how effective those reorganizations, is a question of active debate. However, it could enjoy steady economic growth and macroeconomic stability, problems are too many. It struggles hard to come up as a democratic power. Unfortunately corruption has become a key word in any study of Bulgaria. The National Assembly, which is supposed to monitor all anti corruption mechanisms, proved to be ineffective. Corruption is among the five most important problems Bulgaria is facing today. Five most critical problems Bulgaria is facing Unemployment 58,40 % Low incomes 51,30 % Crime 45,40 % Corruption 38,50 % Poverty 31,60 % High prices 22,90 % Political instability 17,70 % Healthcare 11,50 % Pollution 3,60 % Education 2,70 % Ethnic problems 2,10 % The sum of percentages exceeds 100, as respondents have given up to three answers (Source: Five most critical problems Bulgaria is facing, http://www.online.bg/coalition2000/eng/ci-feb99/2.htm) This social evil happened to spread widely in various fields of Bulgarian public life. Corruption has developed as a key principle in many fields like administration and judiciary. Political party finance, public administration and judiciary are the most affected areas. The Bulgarian community has begun to understand the magnitude of corruption of ministers and senior officials. Due to corrupt bureaucracy, any official procedure has become a 'hard nut' for the common man. He has to pay a huge amount to the police, health