A government renaissance, representing the public’s interests

Auteur(s): Ellen van Doorne and Boudewijn Steur

The time has come for a government renaissance. First and foremost, this reappraisal entails acknowledging that the government matters with regard to representing the public’s interests. The government plays a crucial role as crisis manager, as the financial crisis and the ensuing great recession made evident. But it is also the key player when it comes to addressing the major societal issues of today, such as the energy transition, robotisation and the labour market. Furthermore, the importance of good institutions is increasingly being recognised. In other words, it is important to carefully assess governmental interventions. However, this necessary reappraisal of the government must also take into account that the government’s role is no longer defined as it was decades go. We can only fall back on old formulas to a certain degree. Now, in the second decade of the twenty-first century, the government’s role must be redefined. And this undertaking is urgent, for though the social context has drastically changed, the discussion about the government has been firmly entrenched in the past for too long.