6 POLITICIANS BEHAVING BADLY
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of advising people how to get a service they are entitled to by following instructions posted on an official website. MPs also like to be helpful in securing collective benefits for their constituency, such as upgrading a road, attracting a private enterprise that brings jobs to their district or securing government action to prevent the closure of a local factory and loss of employment. They may also help a company by providing introductions to policymakers useful for their business in return for a fee. To take into account the ambiguity of MPs receiving money in exchange for helping individuals and enterprises get what they want, the PBB survey did not use the word bribe when asking about this practice. Immediately after asking about high-ranking officials taking bribes, it asked: How many Members of Parliament take money from people who want political favours? This phrasing left open whether the payment was for an MP doing something that violated laws. Two-thirds of respondents did not generalize to most politicians media exposure of individual politicians exploiting their office to make money. Notwithstanding significant differences in the way in which MPs are elected in Britain, France and Spain, there is little difference between countries in the perception of MPs taking money in exchange for favours. About one-third in each country thought most MPs did so (Table 1). In all societies, there is a distinction between public and private behaviour and a gray area in between. By seeking public office politicians place themselves in the public eye and the media can, if it chooses, headline private behaviour that is not treated as newsworthy when engaged in by ordinary people. It can publicize as scandalous a politician getting drunk, using drugs or is involved in embarrassing forms of sexual behaviour. The PBB survey asked: How many politicians in their private behaviour over-indulge in drink, sex or drugs? People see most politicians respecting informal social norms in their private behaviour. Just one-sixth of Spaniards saw over-indulgence widespread among politicians and one-quarter of Britons and French. The most widespread form of bad behaviour is political, misleading voters. To test whether people see their representatives as living up to their mandate from the electorate, the survey asked: How many politicians promise to do one thing if elected and then do the opposite after being elected? Almost three-quarters of Britons view most or all politicians as hypocritical vote-seekers. The proportion is higher still in France, fivesixths, and highest in Spain, where seven out of eight see most politicians
