Report: Democracy in danger

Reform fatigue and political polarization are contributing to an emerging governance crisis in Central Europe, a major study released today by democracy watchdog Freedom House shows.

Reform fatigue and political polarization are contributing to an emerging governance crisis in Central Europe, a major study released today by democracy watchdog Freedom House shows. These developments suggest a possible erosion of the democratic consensus in Central Europe's EU-member states, wrote the report, which each year assesses the democratic development of 29 countries and territories from Central Europe to Eurasia.

"Populism and anti-liberal trends are on the rise and judicial independence is coming under increased pressure," wrote Freedom House. "Insular party politics hamper the fight against corruption and practices to combat corruption in these countries are falling short."

In Slovakia, the new parliament began filling vacancies in the Constitutional Court in 2006 by hiring politically loyal candidates, casting doubt on their independence, said the report, which was released on June 14.

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