Bringing more private-sector ideas into the public sector would require slow evolution, not overnight whiz-bang theatrics of the type being planned by the incoming Trump administration.
During 1,000 years, the doge, elected for life, ruled the city-state of Venice. The word doge was derived from the Latin for leader: dux, ducis — whence “duke” and Mussolini’s sobriquet, Il Duce.
DOGE revives a private-sector pipe dream: swagger into the public sector, put a bit of stick about, knock it into shape and then call it a job well done.
Such one-shot shaking-up can’t last. That’s because the public sector is trained to manage predictable, quantifiable and repetitive tasks — an aptitude and comfort level that is the antithesis of entrepreneurial creativity. Innovation often relies on trial and error. But in the public sector, the idea of “trying” something — or even worse, the possibility of “error” — attracts a severe dressing-down. Failure produces shame, not insight.
Capital works, however, do call for creative solutions and rapid decision-making. This is why most public-sector construction is contracted out to the private sector.
The private sector can improve public-sector management, but it must be a continuing, sustained effort. How? Well, the elected officials to whom the civil service reports must include some who know how a large organization should be run. But it will require slow evolution, not overnight whiz-bang Muskian metaverse theatrics.
In short, we need far more entrepreneurs and businesspeople to stand for election. And to do it as a civic duty. Paying politicians more just gets you politicians attracted by the pay.
Such backgrounds give breadth; but without some private-sector input, Montreal’s elected class, instead of challenging their civil service, soon succumb to Stockholm Syndrome and become risk-averse bureaucrats themselves.
Montreal may not be a city-state, but every doge must have its day.
Peter F. Trent, a former inventor and businessman, served five terms as mayor of Westmount and led the Montreal demerger movement. His Merger Delusion was a finalist for the best Canadian political book of 2012.