By Stavros Lygeros

The survey conducted by Transparency International, an anti-graft watchdog, on perceived public corruption confirmed what Greek citizens know from everyday experience. Not surprisingly, Greece has the dubious honor of been branded as the most corrupt of all EU members. What is surprising, however, is that the government and the entire political system keep deluding themselves.

It is common knowledge that corruption has become the norm, rather than the exception, in the public sphere. Its tentacles have spread into the entire structure of society, undermining the rule of law. Bribes are common in carrying out ordinary transactions. In order to avoid delays, citizens bribe civil servants to skip the red tape.

Bribes often help people bypass laws and bureaucratic red tape. Such tactics not only poison social morality but also do serious harm to the public interest. Corruption is most rampant at the top of the social pyramid. Tangled political and business interests undermine healthy competition and, by extension, our democratic institutions.

The worst thing about corruption is that politicians and citizens treat it as a normal phenomenon. The requisite measures to curb it are known to everyone, but the political will to do so remains feeble.

Corruption is widespread, either because politicians get involved or because it grows along with the parties’ and politicians’ clientelist relationships. Not that long ago, the premier evaded questions on corruption in Parliament, saying, “If someone has evidence, they should take it to the prosecutor.”

Costas Simitis’s position, at the time, was legalistic rather than political. He couldn’t see the wood for the trees. Examining cases of corruption on an individual basis may be necessary for criminal prosecution, but not for institutional reform. Fortunately, Simitis seems to have finally abandoned this stance.