President Elbegdorj inaugurated

On the 18 of June Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj was inaugurated as Mongolian President, in a ceremony held in Government House Ulaanbaatar. The event is reported to cost 137 million tugrugs (approximately 100 000 USD), according to Minister of Finance S. Bayartsogt. The photo above shows how the former President Nambariin Enkhbayar hands over the seal of the Mongolian state to the new President Elbegdorj.

Russia's President Dimitry Medvedev expressed his wish to meet his new Mongolian collegue late this June in Yekaterinburg. This is interesting news as the Russian joint leadership clearly supported Nambariin Enkhbayar's campaign to remain president. But I guess even the Kremlin has to adapt to the harsh realities of international relations. Medvedev even expressed his good will before Elbegdorj was inaugurated.

The photo above shows Mongolian Prime Minister Sanjaagiin Bayar, standing behind the new and the former president.

Elbegdorj said in his inauguration speach that he was going to fight corruption to the bitter end. This is a huge undertaking, considering the depth of corruption in Mongolian society. It is wellknown that both the communist style, as well as the capitalist model of corruption excist simulaneously in contemporary Mongolian society. The policies of the IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the foreign aid providers has contributed to the spread of new forms of corruption in Mongolian society. The most obvious flaw in their policies was to demand a freeze of the salaries of civil servants in Mongolia, at such a low level that nobody could make a decent living on that kind salary. Of course paying civil servants low salaries is one of the most effective ways there are to promote the spread of corruption. According to my experiences of researching corruption in Mongolia I find it hard to believe that the new president really could make a difference in this aspect. But I would surely be one of the first ones to congratulate him if he succeeds in this Sisyphonic task.

Furthermore, Elbegdorj urged for increased efforts to improve the Mongolian people's living standards and to fight poverty. This is especially important these days, during the financial crisis that has hit the construction and building sectors hard. Out of ten, at least seven constructions sites are brought to a standstill, mostly because the banks will not provide any more credit. During the last parliamentary election campaign, a lot of promises were made to give the Mongolian people part of the money expected to be saved in the funds from various development projects. Still the people waits for these promises to materialize.

Finally, Elbegdorj expressed his will to keep good relations with Mongolia's neighbouring countries; the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation. My Mongolian friends expressed concerns as they had seen a spectacular Chinese map including the Mongolian Republic into Chinese territory. A recent idea in the Mongolian political discourse has been to develop relations with the third "neighbouring" country... Maybe that will also be the policy of Elbegdorj, as he pointed out his gratitude towards his American university, Harvard, where he was educated.

Sources: Xinhua 2009; UB Post 2009.