A study analysing over 11,000 appointments in Portugal’s public administration has concluded that it is still a case of 'jobs for the boys' for the ruling classes with posts being handed out in order to control public administration, and as rewards.
The study coordinator, Patricia Silva from Aveiro University said that the 'jobs for the boys' problem stems from two motivations in central government. Firstly a desire to control and execute government policy, and secondly in reward for past services or to ensure services will be rendered in the future.
“‘Job’s for the boys’ is a mechanism to reward party members. What we have noticed is that political parties have an interest in having control over these appointments because this is one way to ensure they maintain power," said the researcher, adding that “these appointments aim to control the flow of information, facilitate monitoring and ensure alignment between the job holder and the party in government.”
The study analyzed more than 11,000 nominations and recorded the testimonies of 51 political leaders, ministers and observers of events between 1995 and 2009.
Without comparing the different levels of influence exerted by various governments over the 14 years researched, the results indicate that there are two types of appointment - the straight ‘reward’ that tends to happen at the end of a political term, and the handing out of Ministerial posts which happens early on in a government’s period in office.
