engleski

Uhljeb

An uhljeb is a person who has become a public sector employee through a nepotistic relationship or political party affiliation, normally without the required skills or qualifications for that position. The verbal noun uhljebljenje refers to the general phenomenon of employing uhljebs. There is also a verbal form, uhljebiti, which means earning money from a state position (usually irrespective of competence), or from selling overpriced supplies to the state. The former usually refers to a job position (often lifelong) at a ministry, state agency, local administration body or state-owned company. The latter involves securing a contract with one of the aforementioned bodies that enables an entrepreneur to prosper by relying on his network and party memberships. According to linguists, the noun uhljeb and verb uhljebiti have roots in the pre-Slavic word for bread (xlěbъ). In Russian there are terms with similar meanings that derive from this root: a job that feeds but does not require much work (khlebnoe mesto) ; someone who has to be ‘fed’ despite lack of real entitlement (nakhlebnik) (see entry on kormlenie). In Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia the derivatives of uhljeb are also used but not as commonly as in Croatia.

uhljeb

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