82

The reform of the Portuguese public administration : New Public Management or Neo Weberian State ? The article analysis the recent process of reform undergone by the Portuguese public administration, begun in 2004 under the Social democrat government and continued in 2006 under the Socialist government. It acknowledges that the reform introduces aspects of managerialism, but sustains that the concept of “neo-Weberian state” (developed by Christopher Pollitt and Geert Bouckaert) describes more adequately than that of new public management the features of the Portuguese Administration as shaped by this reform. The reform is situated in a context of financial pressure resulting from the need to comply with the requirements of the Growth and Stability Pact in the context of European monetary integration. However, some of its measures can only be fully understood in the framework of the evolution of Portuguese public Administration, since they are directed at tackling specific dysfunctions that resulted from changes occurred in the three decades that preceded. A brief look at this evolution will identify some of the persistent problems that the current reform of the public Administration sought to alleviate. The article gives an account of the measures adopted, underlines the influence of managerialism (as well as of contractualism, less influential in this reform) but also the Weberian traits that persist, demonstrating that the reforms of 2004-2006 have not inscribed in the Portuguese public administration characteristics that could be fully captured by the concept of new public management. Furthermore, it underlines the bias of the reform program of 2006 towards reducing the number of administrative structures and addresses the question of whether this organic restructuring implies a reduction of the welfare functions performed by the State. It stresses the complexity of the question posed and the fact that a possible answer given on the basis of the analysis undertaken, is a limited one. Nevertheless, it argues that the reform is directed mainly at the redesign and reallocation of formal functions within the structure of the Administration (executive functions, consultative functions, management of resources), not resulting necessarily in a substantial reduction of welfare state functions. In doing so, it acknowledges the normative conception of the State underlying the reform and the possible need to review this conclusion in light of further developments.