BELGRADE, Serbia — A 60-foot plastic Christmas tree in the center of Belgrade has been derided by residents after reportedly costing $98,000.
BELGRADE, Serbia — A 60-foot plastic Christmas tree in the center of Belgrade has been derided by residents after reportedly costing $98,000.
People in the Serbian capital expressed their discontent with handwritten notes left at the tree’s base.
“Wish for 2018: That the crooks will be in prison and not in parliament,” read one note.
“Into prison with the city government!” and “Imprison the mayor!” read two others.
Mayor Sinisa Mali allegedly plagiarized his doctoral thesis. It also remains unclear how he paid for the purchase of 24 apartments in Bulgaria.
Belgrade’s Christmas tree is “only the tip of the enormous iceberg of corruption” and a textbook case of how state money is pilfered, the local newspaper Blic wrote Sunday.