Bulgarian center-right wins most of the votes

May 13, 2013

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria's center-right party has fallen far short of winning a majority needed to form a government, according to nearly final election results released on Monday, and it appears to have no willing partners to join a coalition.

That would leave the second-place party in position to lead a new government. The Citizens for Bulgaria's European Development party of former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov amassed the most votes with 30.7 percent, followed by the opposition Socialists with 27 percent with 96 percent of the ballots counted.

Results published by the Central Election Commission showed that two more parties will enter Parliament — the mainly Turkish MRF party with 10.7 percent and the nationalist Ataka party with 7.4 percent.

Borisov's prospects for forming a coalition government were small as all other parties have refused to join him. "For the first time in the last 23 years we have a ruling party that has been reelected on top, but strangely enough what has been formed around this party is a 'cordon sanitaire.' Despite winning the election this political party is not in a position to shape the future of the country," political analyst Vladimir Shopov told The Associated Press.

Borisov has not made any statements after the vote. If he cannot assemble a coalition, the will go to the Socialists, who said they were ready to seek broad consensus for an anti-crisis cabinet of technocrats to be headed by a former finance minister, Plamen Oresharski.

Socialist leader Sergei Stanishev said his party was ready to meet with all parties except Borisov's, as well as with citizens' organizations for such a cabinet. "The only option is a programmatic government with strong expert participation and with a clear program," he said.

Analysts are less optimistic, saying that it will be very difficult to form a government that would be able to appease public discontent. "I expect the country will soon head to another election," said Anton Todorov, a political analyst.

Disappointed with the election results and accusing the politicians with vote rigging, protesters on Sunday shouted "Mafia" and tried to storm the building where party leaders arrived for post-election news conferences. They were stopped by police in riot gear.

Stoyan Petrov, a 49-year-old shopkeeper voiced his frustration with the election outcome. "For so many years now, the same thing is repeating. We will again hear the same old song. I don't see how we can get the country back on a normal track," he said.

Exit polls: No clear winner in Bulgarian vote

May 12, 2013

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria's center-right party and its main challenger, the Socialists, finished first and second in Sunday's parliamentary election, with neither one winning a majority needed to form a government, two exit polls indicated.

If that outcome is confirmed, it could lead to more political and economic instability in this financially strapped Balkan nation. That was clear late Sunday when dozens of angry people clashed with police in front of the election press center where party leaders arrived for post-election news conferences.

Disappointed with the election results and accusing the politicians with vote rigging, the protesters shouted "Mafia" and tried to storm the building but were stopped by police in riot gear who cordoned off the area.

Some 6.9 million eligible voters chose among candidates from 36 parties. But voter apathy was widespread, and allegations of vote fraud and an illegal wiretapping scandal marred the campaign. The Alpha Research exit poll said former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov's GERB party won 30.1 percent of the votes, with the Socialists second at 26.1 percent. A separate exit poll by Sova Harris said Borisov's party won 31.2 percent of the vote, with the Socialists receiving 25.7 percent.

Official results are expected on Monday. Parties have to win at least 4 percent of the votes to get seats in 240-seat Parliament, and three parties in addition to GERB and the Socialists are expected to do that.

That could make forming a coalition government difficult. "I expect the country will soon head to another election," said Anton Todorov, a political analyst. His colleague Ognyan Minchev agreed, saying he sees "a risk of a hung parliament."

Bulgaria has been led by a caretaker government since February, when Borisov, who guided his Citizens for Bulgaria's European Development party — widely known as GERB — to victory in 2009, resigned as prime minister amid sometimes violent protests against poverty, high utility bills and corruption.

The ex-ruling party has seen its reputation tarnished further since prosecutors alleged that former Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov was responsible for illegally eavesdropping on political opponents during his term.

The scandal deepened as wiretaps leaked in the media revealed that Borisov allegedly had summoned Sofia's chief prosecutor to discuss details of the bribery probe, leading to suspicions of government interference.

But perhaps more than anything, Borisov's party had to struggle to win the public's confidence due to economic issues. Six years after Bulgaria's entry into the European Union, the Balkan state of 7.3 million remains the bloc's poorest member.

Bulgarians have been angry over austerity measures designed to reduce public debt, which have meant cuts in health care and education programs. Many Bulgarians feel squeezed by low wages — the lowest in the EU at 400 euros ($524) a month — and relentless inflation. They feel betrayed by promises that joining the EU would bring them a better life. Now, more than 22 percent of the people live below the official poverty line.

According to official statistics, the unemployment rate is 12 percent, but experts suggest that the real rate is more than 18 percent. In a sign of the prevalent despair, six people set themselves on fire this year, and five died of their burns.

Allegations of vote-rigging that have accompanied elections in the past prompted five major former opposition parties to seek an independent vote count; the first such count since 1990 will be conducted by the Austrian agency SORA. More than 250 international observers monitored Sunday's election.

On Saturday, prosecutors stormed a printing house and seized 350,000 ballots that were printed over the legally fixed number. President Rosen Plevneliev urged Bulgarians to vote in large numbers to counter possible vote-buying practices that could influence the outcome of the race.

"As many as the scenarios may be, these do not stand any chance against millions of Bulgarians who can cast their votes for their own country and its future," he said after casting his ballot.

Shattered EU dreams at heart of Bulgarian election

May 10, 2013

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — The big theme of Bulgaria's parliamentary elections this weekend: mounting frustration over the widening gap between the giddy hopes linked to EU membership and today's sobering reality. But few expect things to get any better after the ballot — and the same discredited center-right party is likely to come out on top as voters see no good alternative.

Voter apathy is widespread in a campaign that has also been overshadowed by an illegal wiretapping scandal; turnout Sunday is expected to come under 50 percent. Six years after Bulgaria's entry into the European Union, the Balkan state of 7.3 million remains the bloc's poorest member. For many, the European dream means buying a one-way plane ticket west. Nearly 1.5 million, mostly young and well-educated Bulgarians have moved to richer EU nations since the fall of communism in 1989.

Bulgaria has been led by a caretaker government since the resignation in February of Boiko Borisov, who guided his center-right party to victory in 2009 but stepped down amid sometimes violent protests against poverty, high utility bills and corruption. Some political observers said Borisov's resignation could be seen as a positive gesture toward the protesters and strengthen his Citizens for Bulgaria's European Development party. The party has a slight edge over the opposition Socialists in polls.

But the government has steadily lost public support amid the country's worst economic downturn in a decade. Austerity measures designed to reduce public debt have been unpopular. They include curbing state spending on social programs such as health care and education.

Many Bulgarians feel squeezed by low wages — the lowest in the EU at 400 euros ($524) a month — and relentless inflation. They feel betrayed by promises that were made that joining the EU would bring them a better life. Now, more than 22 percent of the people live below the official poverty line.

"I want politicians to pay more attention to the needs of ordinary people than to their own wealth," complained 68-year-old retiree Draga Velikova. According to official statistics, the unemployment rate is 12 percent, but experts suggest that the real rate is over 18 percent.

A recent study by the Bulgarian Industrial Association shows that investment in the country has declined by 79 percent in the last five years, and that nearly half of enterprises have virtually stopped working.

Criticism by Brussels over a lax fight against corruption and organized crime has left Bulgaria outside the passport-free travel Schengen zone, and plans to join the euro currency are on hold. For many, the solution is to sweep aside a political establishment they believe to be corrupt.

"The leaders of all political parties that have ruled the country in the last 23 years should step down and give a chance to new untainted people to clean up the corrupt system," said Georgi Vasilev, a 28-year-old construction worker.

In a sign of the prevalent despair, six people set themselves on fire this year, and five died of their burns. The election campaign has been marred by revelations of illegal wiretapping of politicians, with prosecutors alleging that former Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov was responsible for illegally eavesdropping on political opponents during his term.

Tsvetanov, who is running for Parliament in Sunday's elections and therefore has immunity under Bulgarian law, has denied any wrongdoing in the growing scandal. The scandal deepened as wiretaps leaked in the media revealed that Borisov, the former prime minister, allegedly had summoned Sofia's chief prosecutor to discuss details of the bribery probe, leading to suspicions of government interference.

Opinion polls suggest that the eavesdropping scandal has further eroded support for the former ruling party. It is expected to come out on top, although it may not have sufficient votes to form a government on its own — and has said it won't join a coalition.

The latest poll conducted by the Afis agency suggests that that 31.6 percent of voters would support Borisov's party, while the Socialists would gather 28.3 percent. No margin of error was provided, but polls of this type in Bulgaria usually have a margin of error of 3 percent.

With up to five other parties expected to enter the 240-seat parliament, formation of a stable government may prove difficult — and fuel instability in a country that is already on a downward economic spiral.

Allegations of vote-rigging that have accompanied elections in the past prompted five major former opposition parties to seek an independent vote count; the first such count since 1990 will be conducted by the Austrian agency SORA. Over 250 international observers will be monitoring Sunday's election in which some 6.9 million Bulgarians are eligible to vote.

Proposed Greek anti-racism law splits govt

May 27, 2013

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Parties in Greece's coalition government disagreed Monday over proposed anti-racism legislation designed to fight a surge in anti-immigrant violence amid the nation's severe economic crisis.

Conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and his two center-left minority partners failed to strike a deal while meeting about the bill, which is designed to criminalize incitement to commit racial violence and any denying of Nazi crimes committed during World War II.

"There was no political agreement," said Evangelos Venizelos, head of the Socialist Pasok party. He said that if the government fails to back the law, Pasok will try to pass separate draft legislation of its own with the support of opposition parties.

The bill has already been submitted to parliament by left-wing Justice Minister Antonis Roupakiotis for a first reading. The squabble is unlikely to cause a severe rift in the 11-month-old coalition government, but it is another indication of underlying tensions among the former bitter foes. The three parties only agreed to cooperate in order to pass reforms demanded by Greece's international creditors, without which the debt-crippled country would have faced a disastrous default and an exit from the 17-nation eurozone.

Hours before Monday's meeting, deputy Interior Minister Haralambos Athanasiou said the government's commitment to combat racism didn't require new legislation, but amendments to existing laws. A parliamentary committee that examines draft legislation described provisions in the bill as "vague" and at odds with Greece's Constitution.

International human rights groups have expressed strong support for the proposed reforms, alarmed at a surge in racially-motivated attacks against immigrants and rise of the far-right Golden Dawn party, which won 18 seats in the 300-member parliament in a general election last year.

Speaking to reporters after the party leaders' talks, Venizelos obliquely referred to Golden Dawn to press the case for adopting the bill. "We have an international obligation ... to have all-encompassing legislation against pro-Nazi and violent racist behavior," he said. "Because Greece has a political grouping that is unabashedly Nazi and organizes acts that essentially breach the rule of law."

A newly created Racist Violence Recording Network, supported by 30 aid and human rights groups, reported 87 serious incidents of racist violence in Greece in the first nine months of last year, including a bomb attack on refugee homes near central Athens and dozens of street attacks that led to serious injury.

Golden Dawn, which rejects the neo-Nazi label, says it has played no part in the racist attacks — although its supporters have been arrested in several instances. "Protecting freedom of speech and association is essential, but this should never be an excuse for inaction against racist and xenophobic crimes," Judith Sunderland, a senior Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch, told The Associated Press. "Steps to strengthen Greece's criminal justice response to hate crimes, as well as hate speech that incites imminent violence, are urgently needed."

"These measures should not be held hostage to political infighting." Golden Dawn staged a weekend rally near Athens to protest the draft law. Party leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos said the legislation is part of an effort to outlaw Golden Dawn.

He told supporters: "They want to stop Greeks expressing themselves ... They are planning a law, the anti-racism law. Let them do it. We can exist outside the law. I tell them this directly and publicly."

Greece starts firing civil servants for first time in a century

By Nikolia Apostolou
April 26, 2013

The Greek government began its first mass-firing of public-sector workers in more than 100 years this week, part of an effort to lay off 180,000 by 2015 under Europe-imposed austerity.

Pushed by its European creditors amid its crippling economic crisis, Greece began this week to do something it hasn't done in more than 100 years: fire public-sector workers en masse.

Following weeks of tough negotiations with its lenders – the "troika" of the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and the European Central Bank – the Greek government started laying off public-sector workers in an effort to implement the austerity that the troika has demanded. The first two civil servants were let go on Wednesday under a new law that speeds up the process – one, a policeman, for stealing debit cards, and the other for 110 days of unexcused absence.

The mass layoffs were announced last week in a televised address by the Greek prime minister himself, Antonis Samaras. Despite the massive unemployment in Greece, the goal of the government has become the laying off of 180,000 civil servants by 2015. “This is not a human sacrifice," said Prime Minister Samaras. “It’s an upgrading of the public sector and it’s one demand of Greek society.”

Samaras though, promised new positions to be created: “An equal number [of employees] will be hired on merit,” he added.

A century without layoffs

Civil servants’ jobs have been protected by a law that dates back to the 1880s, which became enshrined in the century-old Greek constitution. Until that provision became law, each newly elected government would sack the civil servants hired by the previous government to replace them with their own party members, creating civil unrest and a dysfunctional state.

“The logic [behind this law] was that the public administration has to be politically independent, feel secure, and ensure the state’s continuity,” said Dimitris Charalambis, professor of political science at the University of Athens.

Even though the 19th-century law was initially intended to fight nepotism, it caused its own problem: Each successive government hired its own people, adding to a continually expanding civil service without making the public sector any more effective. As a result, the Greek public sector became infamous for being dysfunctional and bureaucratic.

Further, although the law had allowed the firing of civil servants convicted of misappropriation of public funds and other serious crimes or when their jobs are phased out, the civil servants were still guaranteed a right to appeal. The appeal process could take two to three years, during which they were able to remain at work.

The law was changed last November to speed up the appeal process and suspend civil servants charged with crimes. A separate effort today to remove the appeal entirely was blocked by the justice minister as unconstitutional, however.

“[The civil servants], who are charged for disciplinary offenses, have the right to a hearing before the disciplinary council of the civil service and a right to appeal,” says George Katrougalos, professor of law at the Demokritos University of Thrace. “Until the final decision is reached, they cannot be fired.”

But while the law now strengthens the government's ability to fire civil servants, it also makes the workers more vulnerable – a particular problem amid Greece's politically charged economic struggles. This week, for example, a teacher was suspended after he was arrested during an anti-austerity demonstration – a situation more common as of late.

Not a size problem?

Since 2010, when the economic crisis started, public debate over the public sector’s size has grown.

And while the troika has demanded the Greek government shed jobs over the past few years, it had previously done so via civil servants going early into retirement and the expiration of fixed-term employment contracts that some public-sector workers had with the state.

“The public administration has lost about 140,000 posts, from a total of about 700,000. [And now] as the minister of administrative reform has admitted, there are serious problems in many [public] services, especially social ones,” says Katrougalos.

Still, despite its reputation of being overgrown, the Greek public-sector workforce is actually smaller than the European Union average. According to ECB statistics from 2011, Greece employed 29 percent of its labor force in the public sector – smaller than Belgium's 38 percent and France's 31 percent during the same period.

“The problem is not its size," says Katrougalos, "but the fact that it is irrationally organized, overgrown in some areas and underdeveloped in others, especially in the welfare sector."

• Marina Rigou contributed to this report.

Source: Christian Science Monitor.
Link: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2013/0426/Greece-starts-firing-civil-servants-for-first-time-in-a-century.

Serbia holds funeral for Yugoslavia's last king

May 26, 2013

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia held a funeral on Sunday for Yugoslavia's last king, Peter II Karadjordjevic, who had fled the country at the start of World War II and died in the U.S. in 1970.

The former king's remains, and those of his wife, mother and brother, were interred in the family tomb at St. George church in Oplenac, central Serbia, in a ceremony aired live on the state television.

The funeral was attended by top state officials, who described it as an act of reconciliation and unity. After fleeing Yugoslavia during its Nazi occupation, the former king never returned because Communists took over the country at the end of the war and abolished the monarchy.

He died in exile at the age of 47 and was buried at a Serbian Orthodox Church monastery in Libertyville, Illinois — the only European monarch laid to rest on U.S. soil. "We can no longer afford any divisions and injustice," President Tomislav Nikolic said in a speech at Sunday's ceremony.

Peter was born into a royal family, and his godfather was Britain's King George VI, but his life was often tragic and chaotic. He was only 11 years old when his father, King Alexander I, was assassinated in 1934 in Marseilles, France. For the next six years the boy's powers were in the hands of a three-man regency headed by his uncle, Prince Paul.

In March 1941, Prince Paul was overthrown in a military coup after signing a pact with Germany. Peter, then 17, was made the king by the Serb anti-fascists. But when Germany invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, Peter was forced to flee, first to Greece, then to Egypt, then to Britain, where he headed the government-in-exile. He later lived in France and ended up in the U.S.

History books portray him as a figurehead leader and a victim of cunning politicians.

'Yugonostalgia' as Croatia prepares to join EU

May 25, 2013

KUMROVEC, Croatia (AP) — Forget the European Union, many in this Croatian village are saying. The group of nations being celebrated this weekend is one that died more than 20 years ago when Yugoslavia — now fervently remembered as a haven of peace, prosperity and equality — fell apart in a cascade of ethnic wars.

Thousands of people came together Saturday in the birthplace of Yugoslavia's late communist leader, Josip Broz Tito, to mark his birthday and pay their respects to him and the ex-federation. As Croatia prepares to formally enter the EU on July 1, becoming only the second former Yugoslav republic to become a member of the bloc after Slovenia, many in the village of Kumrovec and across the region still regard Yugoslavia as having been a haven of peace and prosperity despite a lack of democracy and freedoms.

"Tito, the one and only," Slobodan Janusevic, a 52-year-old retiree, said. "I think all the worse of both the EU and today's Croatia." Waving Yugoslav flags with communist red stars, carrying banners and memorabilia, people — some dressed in T-shirts with Tito's portrait — listened to music blaring from loudspeakers and watched footage from the Tito era on a huge screen next to his monument and a small modest house where he was born in 1892.

Crowds of his followers also flocked to Tito's grave in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, coming in by buses, cars or on foot. Some wept, others danced and sang old revolutionary songs, while others dressed like Tito, who died in 1980 after ruling unchallenged for 35 years.

While vilified during the nationalist euphoria that followed the bloody breakup in the early 1990s, Yugoslavia has since regained popularity, commanding a steady influx of followers, even among the younger generations that were born after the country disintegrated. The phenomenon is called "Yugonostalgia" and is often explained as a mental getaway from the disappointments of the brutal reality of postwar and post-communist transition that the citizens of the troubled Balkans faced in the last decade of the 20th century.

"The citizens feel they live much worse than they did 30 years ago," explained Serbian historian Dubravka Stojanovic. "They feel defeated." Formed after the end of World War II, Tito's Yugoslavia was a federation of six, ethnically-mixed republics that were kept together under iron-fisted Communist party rule. But unlike other Eastern European countries, Yugoslavia enjoyed a somewhat softer version of communism, separated politically and economically from the Soviet Union.

Yugoslavs traveled freely to the West as they enjoyed relatively high standards of living, job security, free education and health care. The transition to a market economy and wars left thousands jobless, widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Therefore the Yugoslav era is widely perceived as a just society in comparison with Western capitalism, which is often seen as too inhuman.

After Tito's death, Yugoslavia started falling apart amid political bickering between its republics. Ethnically-inspired differences exploded into wars. Slovenia, then Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Kosovo split from the federation one after another. More than 100,000 people died and millions were left homeless after the most brutal conflict in Europe since World War II.

"It would have been better if we all gathered together to play guitars instead of holding guns and shooting at each other," Malina Jelic from Belgrade said. "Unfortunately, time has taken its toll and we are left with consequences."

Although Tito was a Croat, Croatians were the staunchest opponents of Yugoslavia, partly because they believed larger Serbia dominated the federation after Tito's death. The Yugoslav capital was in Belgrade, Serbia, where late strongman Slobodan Milosevic gained power and popularity with his populist and warmongering policies. Milosevic largely built his popularity on claiming that Serbia — the largest of the six republics — was stifled by other, smaller nations.

"Yugoslavia was a prison for all its nations and anti-communists," said Zorica Jovanovic, 49, who watched the Belgrade gathering from a distance. "It is wrong to glorify a dictator, but people now remember only the good things and forget the bad ones."

Anti-Tito sentiments also run high in Kosovo, dominated by ethnic Albanians and which was part of Serbia during Tito's times. Kosovo fought a war to break away from Serbia's rule and declare independence in 2008. Serbia still does not recognize the move.

"For the Albanians nothing good came from him," 71-year old Daut Krapi said. "Poison would have been better ... we are now free." Even some who arrived in Kumrovec on Saturday believed that Croatia would be much better off alone, without the EU or Yugoslavia.

"This place is part of our Croatia," Ruzica Riffert, 62, said. "Croatia is capable of moving forward on its own. It doesn't need any union." Stojanovic, the historian, said Yugonostalgia is an expression of the people's belief that the new, ethnically-defined, but mostly economically and politically weak states felt "inferior" compared to Tito's era. She added that "this is why they view Yugoslavia as a positive utopia."

Ivan Lovrenovic, a Bosnian intellectual, said this was particularly true for his country, where the three main ex-Yugoslav religious groups — Muslims, Catholics and Christian Orthodox — lived in harmony before the war.

"That's because no other new country was as devastated by the wars as Bosnia was, and nobody lost more than Bosnia did," he said. Marko Perkovic, who created a pro-Tito group in tiny Montenegro, by the Adriatic sea, said he remembered Tito's era as the "time of happiness."

"Tito is a personification of a happy time in the most beautiful country in the world," Perkovic said. "His time is not comparable to nowadays. We were safe and happy." In Montenegro's capital of Podgorica — formerly Titograd, or "Tito's town" — one of the city's most popular nightclubs is named "Titograd", while ex-Yugoslav TV programs and songs about Tito can be heard while dining at local restaurant "Nostalgia."

At another, western end of the former Yugoslavia, in Slovenia, Tito-era memorabilia such as uniforms, photographs or Yugoslav flags, are stashed in an underground wine cellar at the best hotel in the country's bustling capital of Ljubljana. Only special guests are allowed in, explained Oto Skrbin, a hotel employee, as he unlocked a thick, wooden door leading into the room.

"This room was created because of the nostalgic feelings for the old days," he said. "We all fondly remember Yugoslavia. Everyone had jobs and salaries, which is not the case today." In the Slovenian mining town of Velenje, a towering monument of Tito dominates the main square. Residents said they prevented authorities, during the nationalist euphoria of the 1990s, from removing the 10-meter (30-foot) statue, which has since become a tourist attraction.

Sociologist Peter Stankovic noted that Yugonostalgia has been strong in Slovenia since the mid-1990s. It has been additionally fueled as Slovenia plunged into an economic crisis linked to the downturn in the eurozone, he said.

"Not everyone in Yugoslavia was prosperous, but there is a sense that things were balanced more justly than in today's society," he said. Even youngsters born after the Balkan country's demise are identifying with yesteryear, sharing old movies, songs and symbols on social media. Historian Stojanovic said the drive is motivated by the desire of young people to move beyond the borders of their small countries "and let the fresh air in."

In the southernmost former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, 17-year-old Igor Jovanov described Tito as a "communist king" who "enjoyed luxury, women and good food." A show dubbed "Tito's Kitchen" is a hit, drawing huge audiences, both young and elderly.

Ali Zerdin contributed from Slovenia, Predrag Milic from Montenegro, Aida Cerkez, from Bosnia, Nebi Qena from Kosovo, Konstantin Testorides from Macedonia and Dusan Stojanovic from Serbia.