Corruption: The rotting of the body politic.

Most of us think of corruption as the taking of bribes, improper use of power etc etc., but the word can also mean the rotting process of a dead body.

When senior politicians are investigated for accepting money from “friends”, or spending lavishly at public expense, we are invariably told that either “no favours were done” or “it was within Dept of Finance guidelines”, so there is no case to answer as far as the politicians are concerned.

However, to the general public these are prime examples of corruption, as in “the rotting of the body politic”.

The level of John O’Donoghue’s expenses is a disgrace, but he’s probably the tip of an ice-berg of similar excess among the ministers who have held office over the past decade.

Incidentally, Nora Owen might well be forgiven the occasional hint of a smile.