Political Data in 2007

Reading this year's entries, it is striking that once again instances of political corruption continue to impact on political competition in so many countries. Some, indeed, are in danger of becoming ‘the usual suspects’– Romania and Bulgaria, the Baltics, Austria, Belgium and Japan spring most readily to mind, but they are not alone. More often than not, however, the corruption is personal and sometimes quite petty. On occasions it occurs at the local (city) level, but bleeds through into national politics.