A new report says countries that elect populist leaders can have increased problems with inequality and government corruption. Watchdog group Transparency International (TI) released its findings Wednesday in an annual report on worldwide corruption. The Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 cited examples of how corruption and inequality have helped fuel growing populist movements around the world. Many traditional politicians promise to get rid of corruption, but end up failing in the end, according to the report. This can cause unhappy voters to turn to populist candidates to “break the cycle of corruption and privilege,” it added. In many cases, the election of populist candidates worsens the same corruption that helped launch the populist movements, the report concludes.
