Modern Bulgaria offers a few examples of how Bulgarians respect those who protect them. What are the examples though, of criticism addressed to various enforcement bodies, and the police force in the first place? Until recently widespread criticism boiled down to popular jokes and anecdotes about the not necessarily admirable IQ of the police and their knack of taking bribes. In the present-day, criticism has shifted to public finances allocated to domestic security, the way taxpayers' money is spent and at the end of the day, to the effectiveness of this public spending.

Everybody agrees that the Ministry of Interior (MI) is paid too much money for what it delivers to society in return. Compared to a few industrialized countries Bulgaria tends to be a relatively calm and secure place. Rightfully though hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian citizens disagree with this assumption after their homes have been robbed many times; scores of thousands who have been physically assaulted and abused by street criminals; thousands of car owners who have found their automobiles missing. Not to mention serial killers, organized crime groups, experts in kidnappings and international traffickers of humans, drugs and arms.

The MI and all its recent leaders subscribe to the opposite view. They have invariably used arguments - not quite clear to the public - in convincing the parliament and the cabinet that their budget is insufficient, and have thus provided for a range of financial perks. Few leading politicians however have bothered to reform and adjust to current standards the Ministry endowed with huge power by the law, but performing too ineffectively.

The new Interior Minister Veselin Vuchkov with long experience in security looks determined that things cannot possibly go on as before. This determination arises from the financial troubles of the Ministry that until recently has been wooed by the authorities. With the 2015 markedly restrictive budget there is real threat for the institution to cease to operate in the way it used to. And the way it used to operate was quite good for it. The biggest unit of Bulgaria's public administration employed 47,000, its budget was commensurate to defense alone exceeding EUR 500 million and the average salary was almost twice the size for the rest of the civil service.

Now the minister has admitted that there is no way out without an administrative reform aimed at layoffs of redundant personnel and at shelving respective costs. On the one hand the reform at the MI is urgent after it has been put off for 25 years. On the other, the Ministry should continue work while reform is underway, the new minister explains adding that the MI is currently suffocated by its own administrative burden and is in difficulties performing even the simplest of its enforcement functions. And it seems Vuchkov has a good reason to complain given that a quarter of MI staff represents highly paid civil servants.

New reforms envisage slashing a few unnecessary social privileges, major layoffs in administration and a full revision of the practice of allocating 80% of the Ministry's budget to wages and a mere 20% to up-to-date equipment and investments.

No one is happy to see their privileges go away and policemen are no exception. Valentin Popov, Chairman of the biggest police trade union, the Syndicate Federation of the Employees of the Ministry of Interior, has already complained that mapped out reforms have not been discussed with the trade union. He however did not dare to reject them in principle being aware that without reforms there are no rosy prospects ahead of policemen either.

English Daniela Konstantinova