Re:Malta: an island of secrets and lies
by ajmurmann on Wednesday February 28, 2018 @11:51AM
(#16484319)
Hah, that's a fascinating point to me because I always thought small countries made corruption harder because everyone will know what's going on. I wonder if for the reasons you describe the is more corruption but it has less negative impact because everyone is watching and eventually gets paid off.
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Re:Malta: an island of secrets and lies
by barrkel on Wednesday February 28, 2018 @12:46PM
(#16484937)
Small countries have small elites that are far more likely to have gone through the same educational institutions and run in the same social circles. A corruption of back-scratching at the top, where consequences and laws are for the little people, rather than a culture of pervasive bribery.
Ireland is corrupt like this - not for major crimes, just lots of little things, like planning permission and speeding points on driving licenses.
Nobody wants to make a big stink because everybody swims in the same small pond, and what goes around comes around.
Here's a case study on the topic of speeding points: https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/03/iri... ; speeding points corruption is an ongoing political issue that has brought down multiple justice ministers, primarily due to the attempted coverups (trying to silence Maurice McCabe).