The Wall Street Journal quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Resident Senior Fellow Anders Aslund on the role on privatization in promoting democracy in Ukraine:
Anders Aslund, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Kiev will face additional political headwinds as it tries to privatize hundreds of state-owned companies, many of which he says weigh on the state budget through subsidies.
Selling those assets are key to ensuring the long-term transition of the country, he said. As in other post-Soviet countries, an unhealthy relationship had developed between Ukraine’s state-owned firms and the government that facilitated corruption.
“Privatization breaks the powers of state enterprises and facilitates the survival of democracy,” Mr. Aslund said.