Despite another year of court cases, resignations and even prison terms, corruption in Spain is not considered as bad as last year, according to data published by the Transparency International organisation in Berlin this week.
In fact, in the ranking of 175 countries, Spain has shown an improvement of 3 places in the chart, adding 60 points to their score, one point more than in 2013.
Now in 37th place, Spain is behind neighbouring Portugal, sitting in 31st place, Poland at 35, and well ahead of both Italy and Greece that share 69th place. The United Kingdom stands in 14th place, with Denmark, New Zealand and Finland holding the top 3 places respectively.
The report says that “Poorly equipped schools, counterfeit medicine and elections decided by money are just some of the consequences of public sector corruption. Bribes and backroom deals don’t just steal resources from the most vulnerable – they undermine justice and economic development, and destroy public trust in government and leaders.”
Alejandro Salas, director of Transparency International, explained how the perception of corruption in Spain remained stable due to the scandals that hit members of the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy and the Socialist opposition who can “no longer hide”, whilst also encouraging public debate and litigation. “The improvement is very significant. Spain remains the same, stagnant”, he said.
“Corruption is not new in Spain, is a historical phenomenon”, explaining how when the economy was good, people “lived with it” as something that “does not bother” them. Now, it is no longer hidden, but “What strikes me is that corruption in Spain is very structural, very systematic. It is not itself a party, a government of a province. It is steeped in different sectors of society. The solution will require many compromises and efforts”, he concluded.
In terms of the scoring of the Transparency International index, a score of 0 would mean that a country is “perceived to be highly corrupt”, whereas at the other end of the scale, a score of 100 would indicate “perceived low levels of corruption”. More than two thirds of the countries included in the index this year scored less than 50.
Leader Denmark has 92 points, up from 91 last year and 90 in 2012. The United Kingdom scored 78 points, up from 76 in 2013 and 74 in 2012. With their 60 points, Spain showed an increase from last year´s 59, but a decrease from the 65 points scored in 2012. Somalis and North Korea are at the bottom of the table, with just 8 points each, the same score they have presented for the last 2 years.
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