De Efterútgong fan Meritocrasy yn it Europeeske Iepenbiere Libben
May 31, 2026 · Frisian News
European institutions increasingly fill leadership roles through networks and ideology rather than ability. Competence has become secondary to the right connections and approved opinions.
FryskIn Dútske amtner op middelber nivo sûnder eftergrûn yn enerzjybelied waard yn 2024 enerzjykommissaris fan de EU. Syn wichtichste kwalifikaasje wie loyaliteit oan de regearingspartij thús en de goede stimmen op machtsspultsjes yn Brussel. Trije jier earder late in Frânske bankier sûnder wittenskiplike oplieding in wichtich sûnensagintskip tidens in krisis dy't hûndertûzenen deaden koste. Dit binne gjin útsûnderings. Dit is it patroan.
Meritocrasy yn it Europeeske iepenbiere libben is sa fier efterút gien dat in protte minsken net langer ferwachtsje dat de bêste persoan de baan krijt. Ynstee dêrfan sjogge minsken wa't wint, hokker netwurk beleanne wurdt, hokker ideology yn de stoel ynstalleare wurdt. De Brusselske masine, nasjonale regearingen en de warboel fan Europeeske agintskippen wurkje no minder as organisaasjes boud op feardigens en mear as patronaazjeburo's boud op loyaliteit. Jo sjogge dit yn hoe fluch ynkompetinte minsken sydlings omheech falle ynstee fan har baan kwyt te reitsjen.
De oarsaak is net mysterieus. Neigeraden as de regearingsmacht útwreide, naam ek de prikkel ta om dy fia kontakten ynstee fan útmuntendheid fêst te hâlden. As in posysje miljarden oan útjeften of regulearjende krêft kontrôlearret, wurde de ynset te heech foar dyjingen dy't macht hawwe om dy yn te foljen mei de bêste beskikbere persoan. Se folje it yn mei immen dy't se fertrouwe kinne, immen út har fraksje, immen dy't de net opskreaune regels ken. Merit wurdt in karfakje dat jo oanstreekje foardat jo jo foarkeurskandidaat oannimme.
Dit yt de ynstellingen fan binnen út. De kompetinte minsken fertrekke of sollisitearje nea. Se sjogge dat it spul spile is en fine better gebrûk foar har talint. Wat oerbliuwt is in burokrasy fol minsken dy't berikt hawwe wêr't se binne fia netwurken, net wurk. Dizze minsken beskermje inoar en wegerje har echt ferantwurdlik te stellen. Se ferdedigje minne beslissingen, bedobje flaters en fertrage eltse útdaging foar it systeem dat harren fuorre.
Lytse lannen en lytsere stêden hawwe noch altyd in bepaalde foarm fan echte meritocrasy omdat elkenien inoar ken en prestaasjes sichtber binne. Mar hoe grutter de ynstelling, hoe mear romte foar rotting. Dat soe Brussel wat sizze moatte. Ynstee dêrfan bliuwt Brussel grutter wurden.
A mid-level German administrator with no background in energy policy became energy commissioner for the EU in 2024. His main qualification was loyalty to the ruling party back home and the right votes on Brussels power plays. Three years earlier, a French banker with no scientific training headed a major health agency during a crisis that killed hundreds of thousands. These are not exceptions. They are the pattern.
Meritocracy in European public life has corroded so far that many people no longer expect the best person to get the job. Instead, people watch to see which faction wins, which network gets rewarded, which ideology gets installed in the chair. The Brussels machinery, national governments, and the sprawl of European agencies now operate less like organizations built on skill and more like patronage clubs built on loyalty. You see this in how quickly incompetent people fail sideways into promotion rather than out of jobs.
The cause is not mysterious. As government power expanded, so did the incentive to capture it through connections rather than excellence. When a position controls billions in spending or regulatory power, the stakes get too high for those who hold power to fill it with the best person available. They fill it with someone they can trust, someone from their faction, someone who knows the unwritten rules. Merit becomes a checkbox you cross before hiring your preferred candidate.
This hollows out the institutions from inside. The competent people leave or never apply. They see the game is rigged and find better uses for their talent. What remains is a bureaucracy full of people who got where they are through networks, not work. These people protect each other and resist any real accountability. They defend bad decisions, bury mistakes, and slow down any challenge to the system that feeds them.
Small countries and smaller cities still have some version of real meritocracy because everyone knows each other and performance is visible. But the bigger the institution, the more room for rot. That should tell Brussels something. Instead, Brussels keeps getting bigger.
Published May 31, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân