The Dutch Anomaly: Appointed Mayors. Can Appointed Mayors Cope with Role Changes and Societal Demands?

Abstract


 In many European countries mayors are local political leaders. Dutch mayors, however, are neither local nor political, as national government appoints them. Their office is subject to serious changes. While it still carries a lot of ‘natural’ authority, its content has changed rather drastically. In this article we first of all give an overview of the mayoral office in Western Europe and sketch the Dutch mayorship. The next step is to discuss recent developments: councils gaining influence on the actual mayoral selection, mayors getting more legal capacities and responsibilities, and society demanding stronger (mayoral) leadership. We will explore the ways present mayors cope with the emerging tensions between these developments, and between the responses to them. The focus is on tensions between the various developments and the risks the mayorship runs.

Don’t call me a leader, but I am one: The Dutch mayor and the tradition of bridging-and-bonding leadership in consensus democracies

“…Mayors stand fully accountable to the council, and the importance of this accountability relationship has substantially increased over the last decades. This has led to a significant weakening in the mayor’s statutory position ( Karsten et al., 2013 ). Dutch mayors do have some executive capabilities that stem from their legal responsibility for the police and public safety, but also in this this respect they are fully accountable to the municipal council.…”

“…This is because the growing influence of the directly elected municipal council on the selection of the Dutch mayor has politicized the mayoral office and has made mayors more vulnerable to political processes. These developments has caused tensions within in the mayoral office that hamper office holders’ abilities to act as democratic guardians because they harm their political independence ( Karsten et al., 2013 ). In contrast, at least in a symbolic way, the Crown appointment reaffirms the independence of Dutch mayors from party politics, which is an important source of authority for them in acting as a democratic guardian ( Karsten et al., 2014 ).…”

What Councillors Expect of Facilitative Mayors: The Desired Leadership Competencies in Job Advertisements for the Dutch Mayoralty and How They Are Affected by Municipal Size

“…In practice, since the instalment of the current procedure in 2001, this has never happened and it is unlikely to happen. Hence, in practice, the municipal council has the deciding vote in the selection of a new mayor (Karsten, Cachet, & Schaap, 2013). Such selection procedures are common throughout Europe (Schaap et al, 2009a), although councilelected mayors are often selected from among council members.…”

Sources of Contemporary Authority for Mayors: Pinning Down Modern Political Authority in Relation to Executivess Role Orientation

“…This 'Crown appointment' may provide Dutch mayors with the necessary authority on the loan form national government. At the same time, over the last decades, the representative municipal councils have gained considerable influence in the appointment procedure; nowadays the councils issue a very influential recommendations to central government (see also Karsten, Cachet & Schaap, 2013). This adaptation of the selection procedure has introduced a second plausible source of mayoral authority next to the Crown appointment: the 'Council recommendation'.…”