Danubius International Conferences, 2nd International Conference The Danube - Axis of European Identity
General Public Interest: between Electoral Rhetoric and Administrative Actions
Last modified: 2012-05-02
Abstract
Traditionally, public administration is considered to be the operative side of government. It is supposed to include all the activities involved in carrying out the policies of the elected officials and some activities associated with the development of these policies. In this respect, well-known authors consider that the Public administration is all that comes after the last election promise and the election night cheer: the means and ends of government. The complexity of social life, however, has generated in recent years the appearance of a rationality deficit in the actions of government. It is the spread of some behavior patterns that hinder the leadership of the system: rational options are replaced by investment policy, the administration accepts the behaviors that are substantially different from the electoral promises. This situation generates dissatisfaction of citizens, declaring themselves dissatisfied with the activity of the public authorities which, moreover, they have chosen. The intention of this study is to encourage analytical reflections on how the general public interest is represented.
