I am very aware and concerned by the flaws of the current representative democracies and I don't hold most of the politicians in high esteem. However, I don't think there are so many obviously corrupt politicians in our countries. On the contrary, they represent a very small share of the numerous local and national politicians who make our democracies function.

And we must be careful: claiming that all politicians are corrupt has been a leitmotiv of the extreme-right throughout history (at least since the French revolution)...

"Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet