CONTINUITY IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

“Continuity" and "break", are the key words of the Italian administration, the former generally prevailing over the latter. But in more than 150 years, despite the continuity, there have been numerous breaks. The model of the Cavour Law (1853) was immediately fragmented by the creation of special offices, new functions and collateral services. The reduced number of employees grew considerably over time. Technical knowledge sometimes accompanied the dominant bureaucratic culture. The "war" administrations were born; then, with fascism, the parastate, the corporations, the bureaucracy of the Party grew. The main characteristics of the public administration were the following: continuity of men in the passage from the regime to democracy, but also breaks, such as those of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno and the Ente nazionale idrocarburi (ENI); innovations of the centre-left (rupture) against tradition (continuity); the subsequent attempts at reform against the resistance of the apparatus. Does continuity win? However, Europe, digitalization and structural transformations of the States act as new breaks.