From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcronyismcro·ny·i·sm /ˈkrəʊni-ɪzəm $ ˈkroʊ-/ noun [uncountable] the practice of unfairly giving the best jobs to your friends when you are in a position of power – used to show disapproval
Examples from the Corpus
cronyism• Nepotism and cronyism are prov ing his downfall.• The firing is both preceded and followed by blatant cronyism.• Nepotism, cronyism and favoritism are rampant.• Then, after cries of cronyism, the agency was dropped.• High unemployment, non-payment of state wages and pensions and official cronyism and corruption will all be election issues.• The consequence was that good old New York tradition: cronyism, corruption and graft.• For one, they say, she is an outsider in an administration where cronyism has created problems. 