Politicians cannot be expected NOT to be political. It makes good policy sense to take precautions against unethical forms of political conduct. The path of distrust leads to greater and greater public accountability of politicians, with many external accuntability agencies holding the line against formal breaches of ethical rules and expectations. But it also makes good policy sense to promote higher forms of ethical political conduct, beyond simple compliance with the rules.

Society today is in a leaderhip crisis.  If leadership is to be defined as the ability to influence people then trust is the foundation for leadership. Each scandal (as we’re witnessing in France) chips away at the trust people placed in their political leaders.

Public Policy Advocacy  is essentially a skill, one that can be learned and adapted to varying circumstances. As with any skill, there are also some fundamental capabilities that need to be developed to take full advantage of what public policy advocacy can offer. The most important of these are:

1. Not being familiar with the legislative proposal

2. Not conducting appropriate analysis

3. Confusing motion with action

4. Not knowing when to stop.

5. Not managing client expectations. Unrealistic expectations can create untenable pressure to do the wrong thing or the right thing at the wrong time.

1. Greek  Irish, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish governments borrowed € 560 billion from the banks shown below. How will banks get it back?

Business communities of five BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have launched the BRICS Business Council, a key institution expected to drive private sector investments among the five member countries.
 

The BRICS Business Council's objectives include the strengthening of trade relations, promotion of business relations, technology transfer, and cooperation in the areas of skills development development, banking, the green economy, manufacturing and industrialization.

% of GDP and Interest per second

At this moment the biggest threat to the Euro comes not from the Cyprus bailout from the prospect of of its biggest members, particularly Germany sticking with misguided auterity policies.

Look at the EU dashboard:

Interest representatives" is a catch-all term covering interest groups, pressure groups, lobby groups, advocacy groups etc. The EU talks about "interest representatives" and "representing interests" because these are neutral terms, in keeping with its positive approach to the activity of representing interests. It uses them in preference to "lobbyist" and "lobbying" which for some people carry negative connotations.

Germany is one of the last three G20 countries to have NOT ratified the UN Convention against Corruption together with Japan and Saudi Arabia. This is not only embarrassing; it also undermines the credibility of Germany’s efforts to fight corruption at international level, and it is hampering the government’s ability to create a level playing field for German companies in international anti-corruption negotiations.

This situation is absurd because the German government wants others to fight corruption, yet it does not clean up its own house.