Zero tolerance for corruption key to Greek recovery

Kyriakos Mitsotakis' top priority on entering the Maximos Mansion should be to make clear to his ministers that he has a zero tolerance for corruption. If he does, the country could enter a multi-year virtuous cycle.

Sure, there are other priorities: kick-starting investment, removing capital controls, issuing a long-term bond and eventually renegotiating the fiscal straitjacket with the eurozone. But unless the new prime minister starts cleaning the Augean stables of corruption, all the rest could be of little long-term benefit.

Remember that Greece is enjoying a holiday on servicing most of its humongous debt until 2032. Once that deadline is less than a decade away - in other words, from 2022 - investors may start worrying again about how the government will fund itself. And unless the country by then is addressing its deep-seated problems, it could head back into...