Financial Times (June 4)
Just as the World Cup is about to kick off in Brazil “the prestige sporting event has been tarnished by allegations of corruption at Fifa, world football’s governing body, over the choice of Qatar to host the 2022 competition.” But alleged bribes are hardly Fifa’s first red card. “Fifa is a body that has been mired in corruption allegations for so long – and which has been so lame in mending its shoddy governance – that it demands a complete overhaul.”
Tags: 2022, Allegations, Brazil, Corruption, FIFA, Football, Governance, Overhaul, Qatar, Soccer, World Cup
Wall Street Journal (May 18)
“Indians put their faith in a party promising economic opportunity and better governance over the traditional Indian formula of welfarism, patronage, corruption and hostility to foreign competition. Mr. Modi will be the first Prime Minister to govern without a coalition in nearly 30 years, and he has a rare mandate to enact market-opening reforms.”
Tags: Coalition, Corruption, Foreign competition, Governance, India, Mandate, Modi, Opportunity, Patronage, Prime minister, Reforms, Traditional
New York Times (December 17, 2013)
With average incomes nearly tripling “over the past decade, India has reached a tipping point. “The old politics are over. The governing Indian National Congress, the centrist reference point of the nation’s democracy, seems out of touch, and with it the Gandhi dynasty. Passivity is giving way to a ferocious engagement. It is driven by anger over corruption, incompetence, inequality and inertia.” Change seems assured, but little else. “New forces and parties are emerging with unpredictable, perhaps even dangerous, consequences.”
Tags: Corruption, Democracy, Engagement, Gandhi, Income, Incompetence, India, Indian National Congress, Inequality, Inertia, Passivity, Tipping point
Detroit Free Press (July 19)
Detroit became the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy, hoping to escape nearly $20 billion in debt. “The word bankruptcy provokes an intense emotional response. Instinctively, many Detroiters feel the news is horrible and is synonymous with defeat. Fear kicks in as we envision our city being shut down and sold for scrap…. In fact, it is the exact lifeline we need to unshackle our town from the mismanagement, corruption and incompetence of the past in order to get on with the real work of rebuilding Detroit.”
Tags: Bankruptcy, Corruption, Debt, Detroit, Incompetence, Lifeline, Mismanagement, Rebuilding, U.S.
The Economist (June 29)
“Over the past few weeks, in one country after another, protesters have risen up with bewildering speed. They have been more active in democracies than dictatorships. They tend to be ordinary, middle-class people, not lobbies with lists of demands. Their mix of revelry and rage condemns the corruption, inefficiency and arrogance of the folk in charge.” Whether it’s Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Bulgaria, India or elsewhere, politicians should beware.
Tags: Brazil, Bulgaria, Corruption, Democracies, Dictatorships, India, Inefficiency, Middle class, Politicians, Protesters, Rage, Revelry, Sweden, Turkey
The Economist (March 2)
Africa has achieved a dramatic transformation. “Never in the half-century since it won independence from the colonial powers has Africa been in such good shape.” The credit belongs to the Africans themselves. “The continent’s main saviours are its own people. They are embracing modern technology, voting in ever more elections and pressing their leaders to do better. A sense of hope abounds.” The transformation is laudable, but “still incomplete. The danger is that Africa settles for today’s pace of change. Only if Africans raise their ambitions still further will they reach their full potential. If aspiring Africa wants a new dream, it should be creating a common market from the Med to the Cape. That would be a boon to trade, enterprise and manufacturing: it would also get rid of much of the petty corruption and save lives.”
Tags: Africa, Common market, Corruption, Elections, Leaders, Manufacturing, Technology, Trade, Transformation
The Economist (December 1)
Since October, officials at the highest level have been tumbling due to corruption. These include former defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov who was dismissed, Vlladimir Putin’s chief of staff Sergei Ivanov whose job is in question, and former agriculture minister Yelena Skrynnik. Putin has embraced the anti-corruption campaign to shore up public support and eliminate his enemies’ ammunition. “Vladimir Putin has initiated some high-profile battles against corruption. But to many he seems increasingly isolated and out of touch.”
Washington Post (June 16)
Forty years ago, the Watergate saga unfolded, ultimately toppling President Richard Nixon. The episode left a deep scar on the American psyche. “Nixon and the Watergate episode did great, perhaps irreparable, harm to the American spirit…. The flag our forefathers raised on the moral high ground looked suddenly shabby and soiled.” Distrust of government and “the presumption of corruption” became the new norm. Today, that distrust continues. We are “a country without faith or trust in its institutions—from the presidency to Congress to the judiciary.”
Tags: Corruption, Distrust, Government, Nixon, U.S., Watergate
Financial Times (February 16)
India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is considered an upright and squeaky clean politician. Yet he has failed to trample out corruption. The telecom scandal revealed crony capitalism cost the government about $40 billion. The Financial Times expects more. “When you are prime minister of India, it is not enough to be clean yourself…. By failing to stamp down on graft, even among close associates, Mr Singh is frittering away the chance to modernise the country.”
Tags: Corruption, Graft, India, Telecom scandal
