Corruption is a hidden tax that discourages foreign investment, distorts markets, undermines merit and tramples on citizenship. - Ferruccio de Bortoli

The first thing to say is that we do not deserve the mistrust of the markets. Families do not deserve it, as they work and save more than the European average. Businesses do not deserve it, as their exports are growing at the same rate as those of Germany. The politicians who deceive citizens by pretending to cut their spending and then scandalously going on holiday until 12 September deserve it.

(About Silvio Berlusconi) For once, the prime minister is being asked to think only about the country.

Rating agencies assess the reliability of debtors. They form an oligopoly that is sometimes collusive. And they are among those most responsible for the financial crisis. To give just one example, they gave Lehman Brothers a triple A rating, the highest possible, shortly before it went bankrupt.