Big changes have been a part of this country for awhile now, but today marks a *big* step forward. The last decade has been spent underneath the socialist/communist party despite being a democratic country (to some degree), with some of the most rampant corruption seen world-wide. That's not to say countries like America don't have corruption (let's face it: America is one of the most corrupt these days. Just watch the news!), but the corruption in Bulgaria has been very much in-your-face-tied-to-the-Mafia type corruption. Some perfect examples can be read over here.
The new legislature is all about change. I'm too tired to go into all the details here at the present, but the new political party is promising a slew of arrests with the changes. The mayor here is likened to the Chuck Norris jokes that ran rampant in the US for the last couple of years, and one of his first statements tonight after finding out that his party had won was to declare that anyone who stole money from the government and the people is going to have to pay the piper.
This is a good day. I know my wife is really excited, as are every single person we associate with here in Bulgaria. The money that the EU was giving to Bulgaria that was subsequently getting robbed to pay for yachts, real estate, and corrupt officials and prompted the EU to put a hold on any additional funding should finally start funneling in the right direction. With more funding comes more changes. Better schools. Better roads. Higher paying jobs. A better economy. Better education system. Better health system. A pyramid of effects.
A good day, indeed :)
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2 comments:
Until you realize that the "New Day" will be exactly like the "Old Day", but just with different names. Or that it's actually worse. :P
When your side WINS in politics, it's a "New Day", remember. And when your side LOSES, it's a "Bad Day". These statements are valid for any 'side' when you look at political systems.
I think the more appropriate statement would be, "Oh, great, someone new - let's see how I feel in 6 months".
I'm just a cynic!
I think it depends on where you live as well. It's hard to see significant changes made in a country like, say, America, where things have been "good" for so long, that people forgot what it was like when it was bad (until now, when they have to live through it again). Here, people spent years under communist rule, then the last 20 years since they came out from under the communist veil have been spent bouncing from one bad political party to the next, with the older generation who wants communism back always winning in the polls. This is one of the first years in a long time that the younger generation has finally spoken, and in overwhelming numbers, showing that they want some significant changes.
I could go into more details here, but the link I showed (not sure if you had the time to read it) really goes into detail about some of the more serious problems here.
People are excited, and I think they have a right to be. The corruption issue has been a really big issue for the past decade, and they are already starting to round up the criminals and put them away, which is a HUGE thing. The new party is also starting work back up on the highways IMMEDIATELY, starting next week. This is something that should have been done early last year, but the money was siphoned off by the corrupt officials from the EU to fund private real estate, yachts, and expensive lifestyles, which is why the EU cut the money off until the issue could get resolved. So change is happening, which makes it pretty much a new day right out the gate.
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