D’Alema was one of many speakers who expressed concerns about money politics. Anthony Carty, an Irish professor of international law, told Xinhua that widespread “financial plutocrats” across Europe and North America have corrupted media and politics to serve their interests, leading to distrust between the public and the political sector.
Inequality poses another major threat to Western democracy. Citing a survey from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Georgios Katrougkalos, former Greek foreign minister, said that today majorities in all Western countries believe that their governments are not acting to promote the general interest but to “promote the interests of the wealthy and the powerful.”
