ABSTRACT
Research on the transformation of the post-communist state argues that the
intertwining of party building and state building in post-communist Europe
provides ‘ideal conditions for party patronage’.1 Hungary is commonly
cited as an outlier in the region in that it has experienced the least patronage,
operationalized as the number of public administration personnel and its rate
of increase over time. The negative growth of state personnel and thus the
apparently negligible relevance of patronage for Hungary is related to
factors such as the country’s status as a front runner in the area of public
administration reform, in particular the adoption and implementation of
civil service legislation shortly after the change of regime, the presence of a
‘critical opposition’, and the early institutionalization of ‘responsible party
government’, all of which are said to have prevented the use or abuse of the
state apparatus for the provision of jobs to party supporters.2
