Structure of an elite club of 100 top officials prevents the reorganization of the civil service beforehand
Antonie KerstholtEconomist and lawyer
Special legal status maintains a cartel of jobs for senior officials.
The outline agreement includes an overall reduction in the civil service of 20%. An extremely meaningful decision for efficiency and cost reasons. However, the feasibility of that intention must be questioned, due to the special legal position and structure of the civil service in the Netherlands.
The highest and best-paid 90-100 government officials form a special group of officials who are placed in the so-called”Top Management Group” with a special legal position and formal employer. The intended new prime minister Dick Schoof belonged to that group and formator Richard van Zwol, as a top official, is still in it.
Major scandals have come into the limelight in many ministries over the past decades, the most recent of which are still fresh in their minds. Like the benefits affair and the Groningen gas dossier. But also the financial chaos at the Ministry of Health and Welfare that has been raging for years, about which the Court of Audit has been warning for years.
The chief official of a ministry, the Secretary General (SG), is always a member of the Top Management Group. This also applies to the many Director Generals (DGs) who work at a ministry.
The SG and one or more DGs are therefore always ultimately responsible for failed leadership, serious mismanagement and mismanagement at a ministry. But due to their special legal position, they are not immediately dismissed. They get a second chance at another department. With a great chance of repeating their shown incompetence at another implementing organization or ministry.
Because applying for a new job happens with another member of this same very well-protected little elite club. So there is a factually legally protected job carousel for top officials, which simply maintains proven failed leadership and incompetence at the highest level of responsibility.
The controversial top official who led the workplace in the benefits affair could simply get back to work in a top job at Justice without batting an eye. As long as this special legal position of top officials does not change drastically and the protected job carousel remains intact, the Netherlands will have to “billigend” new scandals and affairs with ministries and government organizations due to incompetent leadership.
The reduction of civil servants included in the main line agreement will, however, be able to be carried out at the middle and lower levels. However, these are not the layers of management that can change the administrative culture. That is only possible if you tackle the top layer thoroughly. However, this is prevented by their special legal position. NSC can therefore whistle at the change in governance culture they so want.
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