International Sleazestakes: The Fp Scandalpalooza

[churchill]

I have a feeling Thaksin should be in there somewhere but at number 7

Tie: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Polls of Surat Thani Thailand (Vote Buying Division)

Buying votes is the meat and potatoes of political corruption (as we shall soon see.) And so we have to honor those who have shown the most creativity in this regard. In Thailand, the brother of the Deputy Prime Minister and a colleague are accused of handing out towels printed with slogans as an inducement to elderly voters to cast their ballots for them. That's a novel twist. But the prize in this category goes to our old friend Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has been attacked by his opponents for trying to buy votes through the use of shipments of potatoes to districts he wants to carry. This in turn has produced the best political chant of the year, crowds of anti-Mahmoud Iranians rolling out that old national trope, the little black dress of Iranian politics, with their call for "Death to Potatoes, Death to Potatoes!"

full list at http://rothkopf.foreignpolicy.com/posts/20..._scandalpalooza