Former Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, ran his country as a private security company, the Austrian Der Standart writes in commenting on the Watergate scandal.

Western Europe, where people often confuse Sofia and Skopje, could learn two important lessons from Bulgaria – austerity measures can kick everyone out of the game and EU membership does not automatically equal democratically-thinking politicians, according to the publication.

It notes the failure of the Borisov government, which strictly adhered to austerity, could become grounds for reflections in Berlin, Brussels and the European Central bank, while the six years of Bulgaria's EU membership, instead of eliminating constitutional problems, seem to have encouraged the emergence of new murky elites.

The article stresses the latter must be taken into serious consideration when enlarging further the EU.

According to Der Standart, the wiretapping scandal, which marked the political campaigning ahead of the March 12 snap general elections, is nothing new for Bulgaria as the socialist regime's cliques have been replaced with police circles, secret services, shady groups, and private body and security guards.

"The shocking revelation from a secretly recorded conversation was the limitless vulgarity and cynics of Borisov – Borisov's Bulgaria was and might continue to be ruled as a private security company," Der Standart points out.