GOLD Report I - UCLG

155executive branch from the assembly. Henceforth,the aldermen (at the provincelevel, the deputies) can no longer be membersof the council, and nearly all administrativepowers are concentrated in theexecutive body. To balance this, the legislatorswanted to reinforce the assembly’s roleof policy guidance and supervision. Thesplit timing of the different mandate termsalso contributes to this dualization: fouryears for the council and aldermen, sixyears for the mayor (the Queen’s commissioner).Behind all these developments and reforms,apparently very different in spirit,lies the same key goal: restoring or reinforcingpolitical leadership in local governments,and above all at the municipallevel. Of course this has not been an issuein countries like France or with the Länderin the south of Germany. In both places,the figure of a strong mayor is deeply rootedin history. But it should be noted thatall of the Western European countriesmentioned here have either traditionallyhad a collegiate local executive body, orhave not had an executive body that wasdistinct from the council. In most countriesin Eastern Europe, it was the desire fordemocracy that drove the introduction ofdirectly-elected mayors. However, it is clearthat the various countries have very differentapproaches to this issue. In mostcases, direct election of mayors has seemedthe best way to guarantee politicalaccountability, to the extent that theirmandate is renewable. But in the Netherlandsand probably in the United Kingdom,the preferred approach to reinforcing politicalleadership is to focus on strengtheningthe political role of the councils. Thisambition was also in the background of theso-called “free community” reforms inthe Nordic countries in the 1980s, whichgave municipal councils the freedom todetermine the internal organization oflocal government. Previously, the executivecommittees had been determined bylaw. The reforms (see in particular theSwedish law of 1991 on local administration)meant that the councils could havetheir own choices on their administrativeorganization in relation to their functions;they have also reinforced the executivecouncil’s management lead role in the variousspecialized sectors.For local assemblies, the changes are lessclear. There appears to be a definite tendencytoward what is called “parliamentarization.”This condition is characterizedby a reinforcement of the rights of councilors,and the possibility of calling theexecutive branch to account politically.This is particularly evident in Spain in thedevolving of powers and responsibilitiesfrom the council to the mayor. One avowedaim of this reform is strengtheningthe executive branch’s capacity for action,particularly in the major cities (laws of1999 and 2003). Calling the mayor toaccount can in some countries require aprocedure for recall by the citizens. Thiskind of procedure is seen in most of theGerman Länder as well as some CentralEuropean countries, including Poland,where several such cases have occurred.In a more general form, we are seeingpolitical groups gaining official recognitionin local assemblies of the larger localgovernments. As in France, these politicalfactions have certain rights recognized bythe law in larger councils. This is a form oflegal acknowledgment of the role of politicalparties in the running of local institutions.The increasing responsibilities of local governmentshave inevitably affected thestatus of elected officials (Guérin-Lavignotte/ Kerrouche: 2006). In all of thesecountries, there is a clear trend towardprofessionalizing the status of local executiveofficers, and toward strengtheningthe professional safeguards necessary forthe exercise of their mandate. This tendencyto professionalize manifests itselfalso in the move away from a system ofremunerative allowances to one of realsalaries, complete with social security andpension rights. In tandem with this, thereIn all of thesecountries,there is a cleartrend towardprofessionalizingthe status of localexecutive officers,and towardstrengtheningthe professionalsafeguardsnecessary for theexercise of theirmandate