Are single politicians less corrupt?

A single Indian politician is campaigning to lead the nation saying people should vote for him because he is best placed to tackle corruption because as a bachelor he has no need to be corrupt because no one will benefit.

Though it is widely accepted in India that a single man with no family ties must be incorruptible, experts say corruption is more about opportunity than connections.

According to the Wall Street Journal, politicians move in and rely on a nexus of connections, financial backers, friends, aides, all of whom could lead them toward corruption for their own benefit. Single politicians are not above doing things simply for selfish gain.

The Journal quotes Tom Farsides, a lecturer in social psychology, as saying straightforward selfishness seems reason enough for many people to give in to socially inappropriate temptations.

Adam Graycar, director of the Transnational Research Institute on Corruption at the Australian National University in Canberra, says: “If opportunity is there, or is manufactured, then there will be corruption.”

What do you think the situation in Zimbabwe is? Do people trust single politicians in the first place?

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