The
annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published annually by Transparency
International since 1995, is
cited by the world's media as the leading measure of perceptions
regarding corruption. The CPI ranks countries by perceived levels of
corruption among public officials. I’ve used CPI data on two
occasions [ NOV 2006 &
OCT 2007 ]
to find Croatia’s corruption
"value" related to other countries but after a prolonged
stay in Croatia I’m no more convinced that CPI catches the
national spirit on the corruption as social mechanism of life and
survival.
How
public perceives the corruption of public officials looks to me less
indicative, at least in Croatia, currently, then how public
officials perceive publicly the corruption among themselves.
Here is one recent comment of a politician on the action of another
– translation is mine and I hope the "melody" of the
statement is preserved:
"He
is easily bribed, but he lacks even the basic honesty of honorable
corruption." |