La dirigenza pubblica e lo spoils system

The subject of public management is nowadays at the centre of a decisive turning point turning not only for the peculiarities of the function that it performs, but especially for the indispensable process of organizational improvement of public services. The separation between politics and administration has represented the leading ( o main ) theme around which the new aspect of public administration has been planned through the reorganising and rationalization of the structures , of the organization, of the personnel management and of the action of public authorities . A flexible apparatus , suitable for a management that holds together the principles of effectiveness, efficiency , economy and transparency, is essential to achieve the ambitious aim of the rationalization of public expenditure. To do this, the leadership is subtracted from the traditional bureaucratic model and is introduced into a regulatory system based on organizational autonomy and efficiency principles. Fundamental , in this sense, reveals the introduction of new forms of evaluation criteria of the work of managers , greatly based on the verification of the results and achievements ; here the new model of managerial responsibility adapts , managerial responsibility that isn’t connected to the illegality of acts and behaviours but is closely related to the validity and efficiency of the management activity carried out . In modern democratic systems leadership is characterized by the tension between two values that are inevitably conflicting : the principle of popular sovereignty , expression of political representation, and the principle of impartiality , which requires an administration that serves the whole community, not the political class. In the adaptation, moderation between the "reasons " of "politics" and those of " technique " enters the delicate theme of the spoils system that , thanks to the latest legislative changes and a long jurisprudential debate never ceases to raise interest.