Tackling corruption in public life
Governments come and go, political parties take turns in power but the problem of corruption in public life remains constant. Greek citizens voted for New Democracy for one basic reason: to put an end to unchecked graft and corruption in the nation’s public administration. The current government has taken a few steps in the right direction. It introduced tougher penalties for those found guilty of graft. Now, any new allegations are forwarded to a prosecutor or to the relevant independent authorities. But are these measures adequate? It seems not. The current social security fund scandal shows that corruption remains a national issue, irrespective of the activities of political parties. Greek citizens are convinced that there will always be corruption, no matter which party comes into power. PM Costas Karamanlis and PASOK leader George Papandreou seem to be honest and competent politicians. The two should sit down together and make bold decisions to tackle the scourge of corruption once and for all.
