2010-09-21

Political scandal and social mood

In a rising social mood, voters overlook politicians scandal and law breaking. In a declining social mood, they punish them. And not just current politicians either, those who have left office are still at risk. Consider this story.

Jacques Chirac to stand trial for embezzlement
The 77-year-old, whose presidency of France ran from 1995 until 2007, could face a ten-year prison sentence and 150,000-euro (£130,000) fine if found guilty. He will be the first modern French leader to face a corruption trial.
Mr Chirac faces charges of abuse of public funds while he was mayor of Paris. It is alleged that he paid 21 allies for doing non-existent jobs as part of his drive for power in the 1990s. Last month, the Socialist mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, agreed to drop the town hall's civil lawsuit against Mr Chirac in exchange for 2.2 million euros – the amount of taxpayer's money it claimed was misused.

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