Linee evolutive del rapporto politica-amministrazione tra esigenze di continuità e tentativi di contiguità

The evolution of the relationship between politics and administration, between needs of continuity and temptations of contiguity This paper takes as its starting point the analysis of the evolution of the relationship between politics and administrative activity in Italy: since Cavour’s model - which recognized to the Minister (political organ) also the role of chief of administration – through the seventies reforms with the public management institution, until the present situation where we have a separation (at least on the face of it) between direction duty (politics) and management duty (administration). The author points out how, in this context, the conviction that administrative efficiency requires the establishment of a strong trust relationship between political organs and management has emerged, with the consequence that – in absence of objective criteria – the management valuation is only based on the trust principle, in fact unquestionable. The paper draws attention to the typical characteristics of political and administrative activities, from which the obsolescence of the traditional model founded on the complete separation between the two functions results: hence, the author concludes proposing a dialogic relationship, based on continuity, between politics and administration, paying attention not to convert it in contiguity. To this end the trust principle, which characterizes the relationship between political organs and management, has to be considered an element objectively valuable, even in judicial terms. In the end, the work analyses the most relevant novelties resulting from the recent public administration reform (d.lgs. n. 150/2009), focusing on the positive and negative aspects about politics and administration relationship.