tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24528000.post2064594822697632583..comments2023-10-28T12:01:47.929+00:00Comments on Edward Lucas: CorruptionEdward Lucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11369936559712607693noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24528000.post-44044710536813114512008-05-24T23:37:00.000+00:002008-05-24T23:37:00.000+00:00Here I would finally like to engage in a discussio...Here I would finally like to engage in a discussion with Mr. Lucas. I think you are a fine analyst, I have been a grateful reader of your blog for a long time and in most cases I have been agreeing with you in your analysis. But here I would like to ask a question that had been disturbing me for a long time: how long, do you think, are you going to have your job as a 'correstpondent for Central and Eastern Europe'? In other words, how long, do you think, will this concept of CEE endure? Clearly, especially in the context of this particular topic of corruption to put Estonia into the same pot with Slovakia, or what have you, is simply wrong. The differences between these countries are increasingly bigger and for my taste talking about CEE is hence also ever more problematic. Estonia is too Nordic, both culturally, but increasingly also in terms of its governance, for including it into CEE. What really connects Baltic region (increasingly I run into texts where this term is used for all countries around the Baltic Sea) to the Balkans? Seriously? Ok - you can find topics that are usually connected to socio-economic issues of transition societies. But it is even easier to find topics that establish the essential difference between these countries - and that is even in regard to these same topics of socio-economical development. And I think for a correspondent of the 'region' it is about the time to start addressing these. What about 'killing the CEE', Mr. Lucas?Hanskenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02736200051140080540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24528000.post-89673096606919941962008-05-24T11:09:00.000+00:002008-05-24T11:09:00.000+00:00Since, as you say, the political elites in Eastern...Since, as you say, the political elites in Eastern Europe are by far more corruption-prone than it has been imagined, the question arises: How can the situation be improved without "heavy-handed" upsetting of political balance? The present Polish prime-minister's policy of "general love", heavy political marketing and conflict-avoidance ofetn boils down to the policy of ALL POWER TO LOCAL MAFIAS !MalkoKrakowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10542958856268373787noreply@blogger.com