Leadership at the intermediate government level. Comparing changing contexts and capabilities of Flemish governors and Dutch Commissioners of the Queen

The last decades the Flemish and Dutch second tier of local government have witnessed some much-debated reforms. Externally the provinces have to deal with the increasing emphasis on multi-level governance, highlighted by the exploding number of intergovernmental networks. Internally there was the strengthening of the democratic control and the executive power of the elected politicians. Our main research questions are: did the changing context and institutional reforms cause a shift in the selection process of the governors and Commissioners of the Queen and did they entail a shift in tasks and key-roles? Furthermore we assess the impact of different institutional settings in Flanders and the Netherlands. Both Flemish and Dutch leaders are not elected but appointed by the (regional or central) government, although at the same time they are chairmen of the provincial executive college. This particular leadership position (with responsibilities linked to the municipal, provincial as well as regional and central level) offers an interesting angle to study leadership in a multi-level context. Our research was based on in-depth interviews with key political actors and government officials. The results of our analysis indicate that the institutional changes seem to have induced a shift in the selection process, stressing the political profile of the nominated governors and Commissioners (although differing in Flanders as compared to the Netherlands). And although there is evidence of path dependency, there is also evidence that both Flemish and Dutch leaders are inclined to emphasise their network resources to counter the strengthened position of elected politicians.