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May 15, 2023Liked by Francesco Piccinelli

Exactly it’s micro corruptions that we need to be concerned about - petty theft that ‘everyone else does’ that in the end makes life almost unliveable no matter how robust societies think their institutions are and rule of law.

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Exactly. Big countries like Ukraine need time and assistance to free themselves from this kind of corruption, and the EU had been trying something since 2019. The single thing that gives me hope is that the young Ukrainians I met are extraordinary. A friend of mine who used to select them for a fancy Belgian-based university told me that all the youngsters he interviewed were doing some kind of volunteering. Of course, it will not be easy for them, but I am sure that they will prove me right

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May 15, 2023Liked by Francesco Piccinelli

There’s nothing that would make any young person from any where on earth am unsuitable candidate for living in an open and free society. It is a terrible shame that we are living in an era where old powerful men hold all the cards.

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By this definition to you consider Ukraine to be a functioning democracy?!

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I think Ukraine was in transition to become one before Putin invaded

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But not there - which is the impression that an observer such as myself has.

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