Meritocracy
A few weeks ago, Kathimerini pointed out the need for a politically independent and meritocratic public administration, on the grounds that there has to be a modern state mechanism in order to be able to meet competitiveness at the European level. However, beyond this fundamental need, there is another essential – especially in the present circumstances – parameter. A party-dominated and nepotistic public administration breeds political and business entanglements. That is, needless to say, that despite the repeated government meetings and recent pledges toward eliminating corruption, these efforts are bound to be fruitless as long as the senior, entrenched government officials remain in the party mechanism. The government’s fledgling effort to purge the political system of vested interests, beginning with the more corrupt administrative sectors, such as town planning, tax offices, the police and so on – if not misleading – seems to be extremely irrational and is bound to prove fruitless… It is disheartening and, simultaneously, irritating to look back 40 years and compare the current corrupt and impotent state mechanism with the independent, meritocratic and well-functioning public administration of that time. The recipe for a strong and decent public administration has always been the same: Meritocratic evolution in the staff hierarchy – independent of any party dependence or influence. The security forces also failed to enter two other villages in the mountains near Tetovo because of heavy snow.
