Greece fights corruption and rises in Transparency International rankings

Long one of the European Union’s most corrupt countries and a place where hands seemed out for bribes everywhere, Greece’s standing with Transparency International (TI) rose slightly, the country going from 67th to 60th.

That came in 2019 when there were two governments in place, the former ruling Radical Left SYRIZA and New Democracy which ousted the Leftists on July 7, 2019 snap elections and complained the outgoing administration passed laws going lenient on corruption.

SYRIZA, in a bid to stay in power, had blamed former governments for giving Greece a reputation for wrongdoing and alleged political rivals took bribes from the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis.

That claim unraveled when no evidence was presented by three whistleblowers who said they heard that SYRIZA rivals took the money, leading then-Premier Alexis Tsipras to say they were guilty of the biggest scandal in modern Greek history.

The survey covered 180 countries with TI saying Greece had made some strides although in its waning days the SYRIZA government passed laws going lenient on corruption, embezzlement, and bribery.

That led to anti-corruption groups complaining that it opened the door for wrongdoers to get away with crimes, including those measured by TI which looks at levels of public sector corruption, determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.

A National Transparency Authority was put in place after New Democracy took power, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis blaming SYRIZA for “a shameful performance for a European state but also the wretched legacy of a government that constantly spoke about the moral advantage,” he said, adding that the situation posed a “national threat,” undermining the country’s credibility and its institutions and also discouraging investments.