Trends of Civil Service Modernisation in Hungary in an International Comparative Context – Changing Orientations and Seeking Paths after the Millenium

Abstract

The post-millennial history of the Hungarian civil service is characterised by continuous and often changing reform efforts. Governments before 2010 advocated the New Public Management ideas and to some extent a business like running of the civil service system. Since 2010 the declared efforts have been the creation of a neo-Weberian public service by preserving traditional values combined with flexibility needs, in order to ensure the efficiency in the system. However, the practice seems to differ from the principles in terms of both communicated goals and regulation. But at least the path searching has been continuous. In the absence of a long-term human strategy, the often changing legal environment determines our public service system, which has often changed direction over the past ten to fifteen years, becoming highly fragmented. In addition, since 2006, the mixture of elements of a position based model from one side and a career model to the other has become marked by gradual appearance of some characteristics of a spoils system. The study deals with the constantly changing situation of the Hungarian civil service during the last two decades examining the legal regulation of personnel and human resource management in public administration.