Albania Remains Balkans Bribe Heaven

Tirana

Although more than half Albanian nationals admit of having paid a bribe during last year, their believe that their standard of living has improved and identify more readily with current politicians, a new study reveals.

“Despite the financial crisis, satisfaction with the standard of living rose by 10 per cent from last year and is now at 54 per cent – one of the highest figures in the region,” the Gallup Balkan Monitor Survey shows. 

Although the respondents identified a series of acute problems in the country, they believe that EU accession could bring them freer travel, more security and stronger rule of law. 

“Support for EU accession has also increased from the already high levels of past years to 88 per cent, together with Kosovo, this was the highest level recorded in the region,” the report notes. 

Corruption, as also noted even in the recently published Transparency International Corruption Perception Index is alive and well, with 52 per cent of respondents saying they had to pay a bribe in the past year, by far the highest figure in the Balkans. 

“However, the level of corruption in the business world was assessed to be the lowest in the region and the country’s respondents felt they were the least affected by organised crime,” Gallup says. 

The survey finds an increasing number of people identify with the political class, with 63 per cent of respondents saying that there was a party or politician that completely represented their political views – the highest figure in the region and a steep rise from the level of 34 per cent in 2006. 

However, support for the government remains mixed, with 40 per cent of respondents saying that it was doing 'an excellent or good job,' while 30 per cent rating its performance as 'rather poor.'