Could axing an anti-graft watchdog actually reduce graft?

Sir I read the report by Guy Dinmore and Michael Peel titled “Italian premier to axe anti-graft watchdog” July 18 and was of course duly upset. But then I started to think about the figures mentioned and as a yearly budget of 2.5m Euros to fight corruption in Italy seems not to be sufficient it could actually be more honest, and less corrupt, not having a watchdog at all.

It also reminded me of once when at an anti-graft conference I commented that those selling themselves as “anti-corruption experts” sometimes sounded to me as if they could themselves be involved in an extremely subtle form of corruption. I got some strange looks!