Belgrade, Dec. 15 2009, (Serbia Today) – A week ago, the General Manager of the well-known and successful Serbian company “The Belgrade Fair” Mr. Andjelko Trpkovic resigned. Through the Serbian News Agency Tanjug, he issued a statement saying: “I made my decision after I learned of the conclusions of the SPO Leadership in regard to the business appointments this political party had a control over. As a member of the SPO I have to comply and thereby I resign”
It would be hard for a non-Serbian reader to understand this without further explanation. Serbia is a parliamentary democracy with the coalition of parties governing the country. Coming out of the one-party socialist system of the former Yugoslavia, where the majority of the big companies were state owned, Government started a huge “program of privatization”, or sale of the business assets to the private investors. From the beginning, this brought controversies and embarrassments through the stories of corruption, shady deals with Serbian “tycoons”, and total disregard of the law and the rights of the working people employed in the privatized companies.
Nevertheless, a number of stable and successful business entities remained in state hands and kept resisting undervalued sales to the private investors often done just for the sake of privatization. Parties in power divided among themselves a control over state owned enterprises through the political appointments of the top management.
These positions were given to the loyal party members as a reward for their work and support. Of course, they did not come without a price. Those appointed had to continue active role in their political party and follow party discipline in the employment policies of the business entity they manage by giving advantage in hiring to the fellow party members, often regardless of the professional or other qualifications.
Five years ago, a control of the Belgrade Fair has been given to the SPO, which appointed its loyal member Andjelko Trpkovic as a General Manager. Founded in the 50’, Belgrade Fair was envisioned as a “postcard image” of the “successful” communist era economy of the former Yugoslavia. After years of the unselfish financial and other support from the Yugoslavian Government, undeniably it became one of the biggest, and most successful Fair companies in the Europe. With 14 exhibition and conference Halls, and over twenty major International Exhibitions and Events, 203 employees of the Belgrade Fair managed to keep company growing and profit making for over fifty years.
At the time of Trpkovic’s appointment, employees perceived him as just another political figure that will seat in the general managers office for a while, without real impact on the regular business routine of the Belgrade Fair, and leave when better ( political) appointment comes along the way. However, Mr. Trpkovic surprised everybody. He emerged himself into day-to-day business operations. Many saw him as a micro manager and a control freak, but nobody could deny his dedication to the professional responsibilities he was given. Revenues were growing, even in the hardest times of global economic downturn.
However, in all of it, he spent so much time running Belgrade Fair that he was not able to be active member of his political party. In January of this year, he informed party leaders that due to his professional obligations he would not be able to be active politically. On several occasions, he refused to hire party loyalists when it was against business interests of the company. He successfully fought privatization of the Belgrade Fair through the bargain sale of the company to the shady Italian- Serbian partnership of investors.
Which of these three - political inactivity, refusal to hire party loyalists, of disruption of the shady business deal, triggered Party Leader’s resentment of the Mr. Trpkovic, it is hard to say, but he was notified of their displeasure with the way he handled his appointment. Was he forced into resignation, or honorably resigned before being fired by the same people that appointed him, it is also unknown.
One is known for sure - A practice of the control of state owned business entities by the political parties directly comes out of an autocratic communist era ruling style, and is in complete contradiction with the democratic programs, which these Parties claim to follow. Mixing business and political interests is always the best recipe for disaster, misconduct, and conflict of interests. In such situations, common people usually pay the price.
A young unemployed Serb waiting in the line of the Employment Agency told our reporter: “Before, in the communist time, was easier. To get a good job, one had to belong to the communist party. Today, one has first to look which party controls a company he intends to apply for a job, and then apply, if politically qualified. Professional qualifications don’t matter much”.
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