13 July 2006

The spoils system

The change of the people in the very senior positions in the companies controlled by the State, or spoils system, is common practice when a new government coalition takes office.

The spoils system is often used to place people trusted by the parties of the government into key positions.
However, the removal of a director means there are very high costs: millions of Euro in terms of an exit package.

This cost is paid by the citizens, since they are the shareholders of the State companies.

We need to ask the question whether we can discuss the current system of changing the whole of the top management of the public services. The current system is costly and inefficient and is seen by public opinion as a way of occupying every powerful space. Thus it must be possible to terminate the mandate of the managers, but based on very clear criteria: Have they achieved positive and measurable results? If they haven’t, then just like a minister who is dismissed, they should be sent away without an exit package. The government body to which they refer must be authorised to put this into action.

Another topic relating to the spoils system is the level of pay of the people in top positions in State companies. This must be at a level that is in proportion to the real contribution they make to the company. It should not be based on the political importance that the person has for any particular party.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics