Law and comedy
Every four years, voters get to watch the same political comedy. It’s called «maximum spending by deputy candidates in each district.» The plot is well known. The state sets a limit on the campaign spending by political candidates. They, in turn, pledge not to break the ceiling. A parliamentary committee is supposed to keep an eye on the money that goes into the campaigns, but Parliament itself tends to turn a blind eye on wrongdoers later on. It happened in 2004, the first year the law was implemented. Everyone knows that the limits on spending set by the law are something like the country’s officially set property values: unrealistic. They are set at a level that does not insult public sentiment and therefore allows tricksters to exceed that limit. «Dura lex, sed lex» (The law is hard, but it is the law), the Romans said. That should be a guide for everyone, especially the lawmakers.
