Abstract
The fact that Belgian politicians did not succeed in forming a government coalition following the June 2010 elections did not prevent public managers and civil servants to guarantee the continuity of government operations. Leading civil servants, whether as departmental managers or as ministerial advisors simply continued to function. Complying with caretaker government conventions, they followed a line of permanence and caution, while urgent matters occasionally released the break on new policy initiatives. It has to be noted that the absence of a federal government for more than a year did not lead to strong negative effects in the delivery of government programmes. Yet, in absence of a political mandate for change, civil servants and public managers cannot implement policy adaptations or drastic reforms that are considered as necessary for the long-term stability of the Belgian economic and social system.
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Notes
For their help in opening up the black box of caretaker administration, the author is grateful to six anonymous interviewees from the federal government services, including the Inspection of Finance, from ministerial cabinets, and from the media. The author also wishes to thank Christopher Pollitt, Karolien Van Dorpe, Dieter Vanhee, Valerie Pattyn, Jan Van Damme, and Ellen Fobé of the Leuven Public Management Institute for comments on an earlier draft of this article.
References
Brans, M., de Visscher, C. and Vancoppenolle, D. (2009) ‘Administrative Reforms in Belgium: Maintenance or Modernisation’, in M. Brans, L. De Winter and W. Swenden (eds.) The Politics of Belgium: Institutions and Policy Under Bipolar and Centrifugal Federalism, London: Routledge, pp. 117–136.
Brans, M. and Steen, T. (2007) ‘From Incremental to Copernican Reform? Changes to the Position and Role of Senior Servants in the Belgian Federal Administration’, in E.C. Page and V. Wright (eds.) From the Active to the Enabling State: The Changing Role of Top Officials in European Nations, Basingstoke: Palgrave, pp. 63–80.
Pressman, J.L. and Wildavsky, A.B. (1984) Implementation: How Great Expectations from Washington are Dashed in Oakland, Berkeley: University of California Press.
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Brans, M. Continuity and Change in Belgium's Caretaker Administration. Eur Polit Sci 11, 102–107 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2011.60
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2011.60