It also mostly depends on the culture and the nation itself we would be talking about, in my opinion. There are cultures in which it is more socially acceptable for a politician to give up on corruption and adopt lies as main driving force to continue within the world of politics. That is why I don't like the current status of the politics wibtin the western hemisphere, where it is approaching, it would seem that the quality of politicians is decreasing in a very rapid progression, leading to demagogy and liars to have a chance to get in positions which they were never supposed to be in the first place.
There are countries in which politics is regarded as a serious matter and it those caught in corruption are used as an example of punishment, Japan and Nordic countries come to mind when I think of highly functioning democracies.