Citiizen participation as success formula to check corruption in Spain

"The best way to minimize corruption entails, in the first place, institutional reforms to introduce a system of checks and balances within the institutions themselves, so there is no exclusive dependence on the limited attention of auditing bodies," says Víctor Lapuente. After obtaining a PhD in political science from Oxford, Lapuente went on to teach at The Quality of Government Institute at the University of Gothenburg, where he researches corruption and government reform. In a recent article published in EL PAÍS - John Wayne, Salander and Spain - Lapuente defended citizen participation as a successful formula to check corruption. But this would require an overhaul and de-politicization of government agencies at all levels.

Question. What are the keys to real administrative reform?
Answer. Countries with the most efficient governments - Canada, New Zealand, Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands - have what we might call the administrative infrastructure. They seek a balance between political impetus and day-to-day management carried out by independent professionals. The separation between the political and administrative spheres is not so clear in Spain, and what we see here is a fratricidal fight between one political-administrative tribe with ties to party X and another tribe with ties to party Y. Each tribe has an interest in covering up for its corrupt members in order to guarantee its own survival, and tends to make short-term decisions. Besides that, the most efficient administrations have incorporated management methods from the private sector. Spain does not have a large amount of public employees, but the civil servant status extends to the major services of the welfare state, such as education or health. This is a hindrance to administrative efficiency.

  EL PAIS http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/02/27/inenglish/1361974079_632839.html