How corruption in Greece prolongs its recession, which is pushing a continent to the brink.

By George Mesthos — Special to GlobalPost

MF director Dominique Strauss-Kahn

International Monetary Fund (IMF) director Dominique Strauss-Kahn surrounded by journalists in Paris. Strauss-Kahn praised Greek voters for recognizing the need for tough austerity measures. (Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)
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ATHENS, Greece — Sixteen European finance ministers meet in Brussels to address problems in Ireland[1].

Markets tumble[2] following worry that the crisis in the eurozone could spread as far as Spain.

But here’s why everyone’s eyes should still be on Greece, which a year ago sparked the European debt crisis by revealing its budget deficit was more than double projections.

It’s not just unsustainable levels of government debt. As those who live and work in Greece know, corruption takes a toll on the economy and each family’s pocketbooks.

Greece was recently rated the most corrupt country in Europe according to Transparency International’s 2010 Corruption Perception Index[3], and 78th out of 178 ranked countries. According to the organization, Greece loses about 8 percent of GDP to corruption. In comparison, if all had gone according to plan, the Greek government’s austerity measures would have brought the deficit down to 7.8 percent of GDP — in other words, no corruption, no deficit.


“The economic situation of Greece could have been tremendously different from what it is today,” said Constantine Bacouris, chairman of Transparency International Greece.

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