Ministerial Advisers in Slovakia: Profiles and Career Paths, 2010–2020

Abstract

Th is study examines the transparency of the regulatory framework under which ministerial advisors exist within the politicized context of a Central and Eastern European perspective. We compare profi les and career paths of ministerial advisers under fi ve diff erent types of coalition governments and examine if variance across government types can be explained by type of party -established vs. new parties. Empirically, the article draws on a cohort of 162 ministerial advisers in Slovakia across fi ve governments from 2010 to 2020. We arrive at multiple fi ndings. Firstly, we suggest the limitation in the availability and reporting of data is an important fi nding as it highlights accountability gaps and lack of government transparency irrespective of the party in power. Secondly, within the low regulatory environment, ministers appoint multiple types of staff including both formal "visible" ministerial advisers and "invisible" ministerial agents that, if one could accurately measure, would likely demonstrate that the ministerial advisory system is more infl ated than we currently present. Th e ad-hoc nature of the advisory system also creates fl uctuations in the size of the ministerial adviser cohort across governments and across diff erent ministries. Th is would also help to explain the next fi nding, which is that, contrary to the experience in many countries, the overall size of the advisor population does not grow, probably because executive politicians have other avenues of appointing advisory agents. Fourthly, the advisers have a fairly equal distribution of prior employment from both the public sector and the private sector, but we do see some evidence of more established political parties preferring to recruit from the public sector and newer parties preferring to recruit from the private sector. Lastly, the appointment process appears to be highly controlled by individual ministers, suggesting personal ties are essential (link between ministerial and advisor

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