Lorenzo Macchi
Research expert covering society, economy, and politics for Italy
Corruption in Italy - statistics & facts
At the beginning of the 1990s, the Italian political system was hit by a large-scale judicial investigation, which revealed an established bribing mechanism involving ruling parties and entrepreneurs. It entailed reciprocal agreements between politicians and businessmen with a systemic payment of bribes, exchanged for facilitating public tendering processes. Judges and journalists revealed that almost all the major Italian parties were implied in this criminal effort. As a result, the Christian Democracy party, which had been continuously ruling the country since 1946, dissolved under the scandals’ pressure, followed by the Socialist Party.
The Mani pulite (i.e., Clean hands) inquiry marked a radical turning point for Italian history, as the old ruling class was deeply renovated and new parties were founded, which immediately collected vast support from the voters, Forza Italia and Lega Nord above all. However, more than 30 years after these events, public opinion believes that Italy has done significant steps backwards in terms of corrupt behaviors, and the deep restructuring of the state apparatus did not halt bribery. On the contrary, more than two thirds of Italians affirm that corruption has increased after Mani pulite, disclosing a severe and widespread phenomenon in the country.
Corruption is widely diffused in the private sector as well. Specifically, more than 40 percent of Italian entrepreneurs and the unemployed declared that paying bribes is sometimes common for obtaining licenses, specific permits, and to facilitate fiscal procedures. Furthermore, 25 percent of the businesspeople always or often bribe public officers to obtain tenders. Under these circumstances, ANAC's surveillance activity constitutes a key role in monitoring public procurement contracts and avoiding an illegal allocation of state resources.
Nevertheless, bribery is considered a threat to the whole society, even though it is still widespread in certain business sectors and in people’s mentality. Italians affirm that it augments the costs of essential public services, and, therefore, everyone must do their part in reporting corruption episodes. Unlike in other countries, where the police is judged one of the main groups which perpetrates corruption, Italians consider the law enforcement corps highly trustworthy. Hence, together with ANAC, they represent a fundamental pillar for combating bribery both in the private and in the public sector.
The Mani pulite (i.e., Clean hands) inquiry marked a radical turning point for Italian history, as the old ruling class was deeply renovated and new parties were founded, which immediately collected vast support from the voters, Forza Italia and Lega Nord above all. However, more than 30 years after these events, public opinion believes that Italy has done significant steps backwards in terms of corrupt behaviors, and the deep restructuring of the state apparatus did not halt bribery. On the contrary, more than two thirds of Italians affirm that corruption has increased after Mani pulite, disclosing a severe and widespread phenomenon in the country.
Efforts to prevent corruption
In 2014, the Italian government established the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC) with the purpose of monitoring, reporting, and eventually sanctioning untransparent public tendering processes. The Authority elaborates every two years the National Anti-Corruption Plan, which coordinates national as well as international corruption prevention strategies. Every public office in the country must comply with these guidelines. However, in 2023, ANAC conducted almost 400 investigations supervising procurement contracts concluded by the public administration, resulting in 107 sanctions issued mostly to regional officials for the omitted implementation of local anti-bribery plans. Moreover, criticisms were highlighted about the lack of transparency in the financial statements.Corruption is widely diffused in the private sector as well. Specifically, more than 40 percent of Italian entrepreneurs and the unemployed declared that paying bribes is sometimes common for obtaining licenses, specific permits, and to facilitate fiscal procedures. Furthermore, 25 percent of the businesspeople always or often bribe public officers to obtain tenders. Under these circumstances, ANAC's surveillance activity constitutes a key role in monitoring public procurement contracts and avoiding an illegal allocation of state resources.
Everyone is worse off
Public opinion’s view on corruption is pessimistic. The government tried to implement concrete measures to detect anomalies in the management of public resources, but they do not appear strongly effective. In fact, there are still some situations in which citizens seem more likely to tolerate bribery. In particular, some find it acceptable that a parent offers money or puts in a good word to find a particular job for their children. Moreover, almost two thirds of Italians affirm that if their compatriots had the possibility to get rich, they would take a bribe or bribe someone else.Nevertheless, bribery is considered a threat to the whole society, even though it is still widespread in certain business sectors and in people’s mentality. Italians affirm that it augments the costs of essential public services, and, therefore, everyone must do their part in reporting corruption episodes. Unlike in other countries, where the police is judged one of the main groups which perpetrates corruption, Italians consider the law enforcement corps highly trustworthy. Hence, together with ANAC, they represent a fundamental pillar for combating bribery both in the private and in the public sector.
