Solving the financial-economic problems is proving beyond the power of politicians. This why the technocrats will enter into the political arena, writes Jouke de Vries.

The Dutch elections can’t be separated from what is happening internationally. What we are witnessing on the international stage is the march of the technocrats. The financial-economic problems are overwhelming the elected politicians and democracy is slowly losing ground. Technocracy will temporarily replace democracy. That means that a-political civil servants, entrepreneurs and professors will increasingly find a place in government.

The march of the technocrats started in Italy, when the pressure of the international rating agencies in the face of the country’s huge deficit effectively forced out clownesque prime-minister Berlusconi. Mario Monti was installed as his successor without elections taking place. The appointment of technocrat Monti immediately revived confidence in Italian institutions. The expectation is that the decision-making process will be speeded up.

In Greece the New Democrats narrowly beat the radically left-wing Syriza. This means Greece will remain part of the eurozone, for now at least, and that World Bank and IMF policy will be respected. Several Greek ministers are technocrats rather than politicians. What the Greeks are aiming for is a broad, national cabinet capable of making decisions.

Wrangling

And now the Netherlands too is showing signs of moving towards a technocracy. After eight weeks of political wrangling the five party accord provided some much-needed relief. At last decisions were being made. Jan-Kees de Jager played a key role in the negotiations. The finance minister says he’s not really a politician. In that case, what else can he be but a technocrat.

There are several reasons the technocrats are on the march. The democratic decision making process is a lengthy one. There is a whole array of interests that have to be taken into account. The situation becomes even more complicated when a large number of political parties is involved, or when polarisation between extreme left-wing and extreme right-wing parties is putting pressure on the political middle ground, making it almost impossible to form a stable government.

Deadlock

Another reason is the political deadlock. Both the left and the right can count on a more or less equal number of votes, not a propitious situation for taking far-reaching decisions.

And then there is the pressure from abroad: the international financial policy set out and implemented by the World Bank, the IMF and the European Union is also a boost to technocracy. At the heart of this policy lie austerity measures ( the 3% norm is set in stone in the Netherlands) and the privatisation of public sector companies.

Lastly, party political protest against the cutbacks makes it almost impossible for a democratic government to implement reforms. The cabinet decided earlier to cut back €18bn which the Kunduz coalition increased by €12bn while macro-economic forecaster CPB piled on another €20bn. The question is whether a parliamentary democracy can implement the cutbacks needed to achieve this amount. Developments in Greece and Spain show how difficult it is. A cabinet of technocrats, which would not be held accountable by the electorate, would seem the logical alternative.

Arch enemies

What does all this mean for the Netherlands? The austerity package is too big to make government an attractive option for any party. Even a solidly right-wing government would quail at the amount of slashing and burning required of it. Those who still want to be part of a government are driven by a wish to either stay or gain power.

The Netherlands won’t have a cabinet of technocrats overnight. But the problems are such that here too things are moving in the direction of a technocracy. After September 12, the parties will have to make less of their differences. The international organisations are demanding a level of austerity which neither left nor right can ignore and which will force them to cooperate. Under this technocratic pressure any coalition could be possible, even between ‘arch enemies’ such as the conservative-liberal VVD and the Socialist Party. 

Jouke de Vries is professor of Public Administration at Leiden University

This article was published earlier in Trouw