Search results

Interview data identified 2 main ideological characteristics of 236 Belgian bureaucratic elites: (1) centrism (avoiding Right or Left extremes), especially on socioeconomic issues; & (2) inclination toward the center-Right. It is suggested that such centrism may be the result of intensive preoccupation with the recent Belgian federalization process. The profile of Left-oriented top bureaucrats suggests a less technocratic approach, less alienation from politics, & greater involvement in partisan politics. To change the centrist-technocratic character of Belgian civil service, a furthering of a more political style of administrative policy making is recommended. 13 Tables, 9 Graphs. Adapted from the source document.

The Belgian senior civil servants do have a political ideology which, with respect to coherence and constraint, is not inferior to that of the members of Parliament and, therefore, far superior to that of the common man. The first characteristic of this ideology is its centrism: senior civil servants tend to shun the extremes, especially the socio-economic (leftist and rightist) extremes. A second characteristic is its bias toward the center-right. But the latter may be an effect of recruitment and promotion practices under the recent Belgian governing coalitions, rather than of the bureaucratic experience under all kinds of governments.That the bureaucratie experience leaves its mark on the ideological constructs of the bureaucratie elite can also be inferred from other data. They are inclined to centralism because the recent federalisation process imposes a heavy burden on their routines. They do not have a distinctive ideological profile with respect to religious and philosophical issues because these rarely appear on the agenda of most of the civil servants.The consequences of these characteristic ideological options are not to be underestimated. There is a clear affinity between a leftist ideology and a less technocratic and less alienated political attitude. At the same time leftist civil servantsare more inclined to commit themselves to active partisan politics. Their colleagues of the right tend more to up hold the traditional distance between bureaucracy and partisan politics. The optimal prescription for administrative reform would, perhaps, consist in furthering a more political, less technocratic style of administrative policy making, and in maintaining the traditional wariness of partisan politics.