Replies to post #102208 on Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[blue13326]

you ever notice the italian pm is also the richest man in the country? isn't that a bit weird in today's enlightened democracies? what if bill gates was president? that would raise some eyebrows

[blue13326]

French Corruption Erodes Trust in Politics

His friends are in trouble


The latest corruption trial of the French president's cronies leaves the public shaking their heads, yet again.


It is a case of déjà vu for millions of French people: forty-seven politicians and other officials are on trial this week over a vast kickback scheme. For several years in the early 1990s, construction companies are said to have paid 90 million euros ($116 million) in bribes, swelling the coffers of political parties. Their reward: contracts to build and maintain secondary schools in the Paris area.

And yet again, the trials involve President Chirac when he served as mayor of Paris and his allies, politicians from the entire spectrum. Mr Chirac invoked presidential immunity to escape investigation over other affairs, but his allies didn't have that option.


"It was very organized," said Nicolas Lecaussin of the IFRAP in Paris – a private think tank that aims to hold France’s public administration to account.


Prosecutions on the rise


Prosecutions for corruption have been on the rise in France since the 1980s, particularly involving the prominent. It’s thought to be one reason why French people hold their politicians in such low esteem.


"What I think will come out of this, is the coming out into the open of a whole system of behaviour that should no longer have a place in a democracy," said attorney Jean-Yves Dupeux, who is helping the prosecution.


Lecaussin says that his organization is unique in Europe and the US and that this explains much.

"Nobody knows where the money goes, and even the politicians recognize this," he said. "You can ask a deputy at the National Assembly and he will say that he votes for the budget but doesn't know where the money goes. It is incredible and it is why there is corruption in France."


Hit film reflects era


A recent box office hit called "Le Promeneur du Champ de Mars" tells the story of the late President Mitterand’s last few months before his death in 1995. It’s also a reminder of an era which is largely blamed for creating a system in which corruption became almost institutionalized.


In the fifteen years from the start of Francois Mitterand’s presidency, corruption convictions among elected officials increased six-fold. IFRAP has lists of those who have been brought to justice: business executives, former government ministers, even the head of a gastronomy association who spent millions of euros of public money lunching his way round Europe. Last year, one case in particular was very enlightening.


Bordeaux mayor and former French prime minister Alain Juppe
Alain Juppe (photo) – former prime minister, close friend and ally of the president - was convicted of being part of an illegal party funding scam. But far from shunning him, political colleagues applauded when he appeared back in parliament. President Chirac could hardly have been more glowing in his praise.


"He’s a politician of exceptional quality – competent, humane and honest," said Chirac. "And France needs men of his quality."


General suspicion


The problem is that most French people seem to think the exact opposite – about Mr Juppe and politicians generally.


Lecaussin of IFRAP believes corruption is a contributing factor.

Just last week, investigators abandoned their inquiry into Mr Chirac’s family holidays, allegedly paid for using bundles of cash of uncertain origin. To outsiders, it suggests France has some way to go in taking its scandals seriously.
Alasdair Sandford (jb)


http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1529624,00.html

[brainlessone]

ergo you becoming an culturally incorrect or something? you know rhodesia was a shining example of whiteys subjugation and oppression of native africans by occupying their nation and using its wealth for their own gain

[blue13326]

Depressed Annan close to quitting over UN scandals
<one more little push>
Sarah Baxter
time.online.uk

KOFI ANNAN, the United Nations secretary-general, is said to be struggling with depression and considering his future. Colleagues have reported concerns about Annan ahead of an official report this week that will examine his son Kojo’s connection to the controversial Iraqi oil for food scheme.

Depending on the findings of the report, by a team led by the former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, Annan may have to choose between the secretary-generalship and loyalty to his son.

American congressional critics of the UN are already pressing him to resign over the mismanagement of the oil for food programme, and even his supporters have been dismayed by the scandals on his watch, including the sexual abuse of children by UN peacekeepers in Congo.

One close observer at the UN said Annan’s moods were like a “sine curve” and that he appeared near the bottom of the trough.

Kojo, 29, was employed by a Swiss company, Cotecna, but left before it won one of the contracts under the oil for food programme. Last week it emerged he received up to $400,000 from the company. The UN confirmed that Kofi Annan three times met executives of the firm, twice before the award of the oil for food contract and once afterwards.

Mark Malloch Brown, Annan’s British chief-of-staff, said the meetings were brief and had nothing to do with Cotecna’s contract. If some of the allegations against Kojo were confirmed, that would create “a very different situation, but for Kojo — not the secretary-general”.

Kojo and Cotecna insist he had no part in securing the oil for food contract and that his work related to activities in Nigeria and Ghana.

New scandals continue to erupt, however. One revelation last week was that the UN had agreed to pay legal fees for Benon Sevan, the disgraced head of the oil for food programme, out of the funds raised from the Iraqi oil sales.

“Kofi Annan is going to find his position increasingly untenable,” said Nile Gardiner, an expert on the UN at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “There is a strong possibility he will resign voluntarily because of his declining credibility.”

In the end Annan’s feelings may be more decisive than the facts.