Worsening corruption fueling populism, warns watchdog

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - “Massive and pervasive” worldwide corruption is fueling the rise of populist politics, new research claimed on Wednesday.

In a report, Berlin-based Transparency International said a majority of countries had failed to take action against corruption.

The watchdog measured perceived corruption in 176 countries, using a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean).

It found that almost 70 percent of the 176 countries surveyed in its Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 scored below 50, “exposing how massive and pervasive public sector corruption is around the world”.

Transparency International experts warned worldwide systemic corruption and social inequality were reinforcing each other and creating fertile ground for the rise of populist politicians and movements.

"The interplay of corruption and inequality also feeds populism. When traditional politicians fail to tackle corruption, people grow cynical.

“Increasingly, people are turning to populist leaders who promise to break the cycle of corruption and privilege,” the report claimed.

In the Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 no country scored a perfect 100.

Denmark and New Zealand were ranked as the least corrupt, with scores of 90. Switzerland was fifth, Germany ranked tenth and the U.S. 18th.

According to Transparency International, this year more countries declined in the index than improved.

The Netherlands, the Greek Cypriot administration and Syria have been among those whose corruption scores worsened significantly but Georgia, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan improved their scores compared with 2015's results.

South Sudan, Somalia, North Korea and Syria were the worst performers this year, scoring less than 14 points.