Integrity Suborned - Or Absent?
Karlheinz Schreiber is a crafty businessman, a German national in whose country of birth it is completely legal to pay off politicians to advance one's position, whether it is to earn support for a particular political position, or whether it represents purchasing support as a deft lobbyist to gain an inside track in government to have its purchasing agents give favour to a particular product over others.
Not only is this seen to be a legal tactic, but it's also legal to use these buying-of-favours as a tax deductible write-off. The idea being, apparently, the German government's practical view that politicians are susceptible to monetary suasion. Nice, huh? On the other hand, it's kind of surprising, given the fact that in most countries such activities are considered unethical if not downright illegal.
Such activities are thought to be corrupting of integrity, particularly when engaged in by elected officials sworn to uphold the law, and the wider interests of the people whom they represent. In the case of Germany it's obviously not against the law to buy compliance, but it's hard to believe that this practise benefits the taxpayer.
Karlheinz Schreiber is in the process of being extradited by Canada to Germany where he awaits a prison sentence for tax avoidance on the profits (along with bribery and fraud charges) gained by such illicit activities. Licit in Germany granted, but not in Canada. He holds dual German-Canadian citizenship, and it cannot have escaped his notice that what is permissible in Germany is frowned upon in Canada.
However, it is not Mr. Schreiber's moral underpinnings or lack thereof that we're concerned with, but the company he keeps. His sleazy ingratiation with politicians and corporate heads through his lobby company earned him a wide circle of business and politico-acquaintances and partners in under-handed shenanigans. People do tend to respond positively when they're offered largess.
Not all, obviously, but sufficient numbers to ensure that enterprising businessmen like Mr. Schreiber do very well indeed. It's a gradual, lateral advance; meet and greet and pay off one principal who will then lead on to another on an ever-ascending hierarchy of responsibility. Until one is introduced to the person with whom the buck stops - and resides.
The thing of it is, Canadians do not take kindly to such revelations, that their prime minister of the day was insufficiently attuned to the dignity of the office he held that his avaricious pruning of the tree of opportunity led him to lend himself to Mr. Schreiber's enterprise of the moment. Which was to give the inside track to Airbus Industries when the-then Crown Corporation Air Canada was purchasing aircraft.
These are serious allegations. Much as Canadians adore their distaste for Brian Mulroney such charges would never reach the light of day without the presence of due cause for suspicion. Mr. Schreiber got lucky; he came across someone whose greed matched his own. One, an entrepreneur on the short side of the law, the other holding the office of premier legislator.
A match made in purgatory. That's where each of these gentlemen find themselves at the moment; Mr. Schreiber in his own legal hell leading to several years of incarceration, Mr. Mulroney in his social gehenna of probationary distaste as former colleagues make haste to widen the gulf of peer fellowship.
It's not merely an issue of where there's smoke there's fire. It's the incendiary issue of a then-sitting prime minister assiduously arranging to have a substantial amount of cash stealthily delivered into his grasping hands at a near-future date. The acceptance of three sweet deposits of $100,000 in bills to total $300,000; a substantial amount of money received from someone whom Mr. Mulroney swore he hardly knew, scarcely met.
And whom he has managed to infuriate by not having delivered the promised goods for which hard cash was paid. He'd have been better off returning the money. But it obviously couldn't be pried out of his possession and now explanations are due. Not, though, easily forthcoming. Shouldn't it be a simple matter to explain how such a windfall of cash came to him legally and above-board? That is, if he is indeed innocent of all charges - as he charges.
Instead, desperate to hold on to a rapidly vanishing reputation, and even more determined not to let go of the $2.1 million he happily accepted from the Government of Canada to drop his counter-charges of harassment, he is readying us for yet another public enquiry which will, in the end, cost the Canadian taxpayer multiple tens of millions of dollars.
Of course, we expect little else from that degenerate windbag. Pity.
Not only is this seen to be a legal tactic, but it's also legal to use these buying-of-favours as a tax deductible write-off. The idea being, apparently, the German government's practical view that politicians are susceptible to monetary suasion. Nice, huh? On the other hand, it's kind of surprising, given the fact that in most countries such activities are considered unethical if not downright illegal.
Such activities are thought to be corrupting of integrity, particularly when engaged in by elected officials sworn to uphold the law, and the wider interests of the people whom they represent. In the case of Germany it's obviously not against the law to buy compliance, but it's hard to believe that this practise benefits the taxpayer.
Karlheinz Schreiber is in the process of being extradited by Canada to Germany where he awaits a prison sentence for tax avoidance on the profits (along with bribery and fraud charges) gained by such illicit activities. Licit in Germany granted, but not in Canada. He holds dual German-Canadian citizenship, and it cannot have escaped his notice that what is permissible in Germany is frowned upon in Canada.
However, it is not Mr. Schreiber's moral underpinnings or lack thereof that we're concerned with, but the company he keeps. His sleazy ingratiation with politicians and corporate heads through his lobby company earned him a wide circle of business and politico-acquaintances and partners in under-handed shenanigans. People do tend to respond positively when they're offered largess.
Not all, obviously, but sufficient numbers to ensure that enterprising businessmen like Mr. Schreiber do very well indeed. It's a gradual, lateral advance; meet and greet and pay off one principal who will then lead on to another on an ever-ascending hierarchy of responsibility. Until one is introduced to the person with whom the buck stops - and resides.
The thing of it is, Canadians do not take kindly to such revelations, that their prime minister of the day was insufficiently attuned to the dignity of the office he held that his avaricious pruning of the tree of opportunity led him to lend himself to Mr. Schreiber's enterprise of the moment. Which was to give the inside track to Airbus Industries when the-then Crown Corporation Air Canada was purchasing aircraft.
These are serious allegations. Much as Canadians adore their distaste for Brian Mulroney such charges would never reach the light of day without the presence of due cause for suspicion. Mr. Schreiber got lucky; he came across someone whose greed matched his own. One, an entrepreneur on the short side of the law, the other holding the office of premier legislator.
A match made in purgatory. That's where each of these gentlemen find themselves at the moment; Mr. Schreiber in his own legal hell leading to several years of incarceration, Mr. Mulroney in his social gehenna of probationary distaste as former colleagues make haste to widen the gulf of peer fellowship.
It's not merely an issue of where there's smoke there's fire. It's the incendiary issue of a then-sitting prime minister assiduously arranging to have a substantial amount of cash stealthily delivered into his grasping hands at a near-future date. The acceptance of three sweet deposits of $100,000 in bills to total $300,000; a substantial amount of money received from someone whom Mr. Mulroney swore he hardly knew, scarcely met.
And whom he has managed to infuriate by not having delivered the promised goods for which hard cash was paid. He'd have been better off returning the money. But it obviously couldn't be pried out of his possession and now explanations are due. Not, though, easily forthcoming. Shouldn't it be a simple matter to explain how such a windfall of cash came to him legally and above-board? That is, if he is indeed innocent of all charges - as he charges.
Instead, desperate to hold on to a rapidly vanishing reputation, and even more determined not to let go of the $2.1 million he happily accepted from the Government of Canada to drop his counter-charges of harassment, he is readying us for yet another public enquiry which will, in the end, cost the Canadian taxpayer multiple tens of millions of dollars.
Of course, we expect little else from that degenerate windbag. Pity.
Labels: Crisis Politics, Government of Canada, Justice
posted by Pieface | 5:17 PM
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