Political influence on public appointments in the Netherlands: the X-factor?

Preface. This report contains the primary findings from a study that took place from mid 2008 until mid 2009. This study investigates whether political parties and/or actors associ-ated with political parties can and do exert influence on the appointment of public of-ficials, both within the national administration and in semi-public organizations. The study is part of an international, comparative study into ‘party patronage’ that was conducted in the same time period in fourteen European countries. In the Netherlands, 47 interviews were held with experts on nine policy sectors. I am indebted to the participation and frankness of the (anonymous) respondents, for with-out their willingness to talk this study would not have been possible. Next to this report, a number of other (scientific) publications are scheduled to ap-pear. If you are interested to learn more about the project and/or the publications, please contact the researcher.