Many days for the thief

They felt secure in their largesse, content that the political conditions of the time were permissive of their wrongdoing and that the institutions of government fashioned for deterrence were securely on a short leash at least, for the medium term.

It would be unfair to say that every act of corruption that happened during those years had the blessings of the meritless and kleptocratic government of the day. But a fish rots from the head and the head – the government enclave - was a cesspool of corruption and unbridled arrogance. The further away from power one was, the more vulnerable and insignificant they were. Sycophancy took hold of government and kleptocracts were fetishized and worshiped. Name-dropping became the order of the day. So dire was the situation, that even the most junior of all staff, was feared by the most senior if their connections to power were discernible and clear.