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Many municipal council members, aldermen and mayors enjoy their work. They often experience it as appealing and challenging, and are generally relatively satisfied with the functioning of local democracy. This is shown in the Basismonitor Politieke Ambtsdragers (BPA) 2024. This finding goes against the commonly heard story that their offices would not be appealing, says principal investigator Hans Vollaard from Utrecht University. And if we take what the incumbents themselves say at face value, there's also no decline of democracy at a local level either. However, the local political incumbents are only moderately satisfied about work pressure and the work-private balance. Besides that, especially council members in the opposition are less enthusiastic about their offices and local democracy.

Mayors, but also council members and aldermen rate their work pleasure relatively high, with a 7.3 (council members), 7.8 (aldermen) and 8.2 (mayors). That's a remarkable finding, Hans Vollaard of the Utrecht University School of Governance (USG) states. They are motivated to devote themselves to society and they also really have the feeling that municipalities can make their mark, besides the national government and, for instance, the corporate world. Especially mayors and aldermen are satisfied with how they function themselves, how local democracy functions and to which extent municipalities can solve local problems.

Appealing and challenging

Read the full report (in Dutch): Aansprekend en uitdagend. Raadsleden, wethouders en burgemeesters over hun ambt in de Basismonitor Politieke Ambtsdragers 2024.

Other than critical sounds

The findings go against the commonly heard story that their offices would not be appealing. It's appealing to a large part of the people active in political governance, Hans Vollaard continues. That's a different, positive sound besides the worrisome sounds we often hear about local democracy: incumbents have limited influence on the regional collaboration, there is much online aggression, the municipal executive is dominant, the election turnout is too low, etc. etc.

To a degree, I'm happy with the continuous complaints because if people wouldn't worry about local democracy anymore, I'd find that much worse. But it turns it's not all misery. Things are going, at least according to many incumbents themselves, quite reasonably.

Local democracy requires maintenance, permanent maintenance, but many concerns are actually of all times

So let's not convince each other of a ‘decline of democracy at a local level’. Local democracy requires maintenance, permanent maintenance, Vollaard says. But many concerns are actually of all times and are partially connected to the fact that municipal council members are layman governors, who have to get used to ‘the game’ when they start and only get better at it as time passes, understand better how they can get matters done at a local level.

Criminal influencing and work pressure

The (Monitor of Integrety and Safety) shows that a growing share of the incumbents are dealing with especially online aggression. In the Basismonitor Politieke Ambtsdragers, the focus was instead on criminal influencing. Less than two percent of the political local incumbents has experienced an attempted bribe with a criminal purpose in the past year, the report states. Besides this, three percent reports they experienced a threat with a criminal purpose in the past year. According to four percent of the political incumbents, their municipalities face or have faced criminal infiltration in the past year.

Municipal council members, aldermen and mayors are less satisfied with some points, such as the work-private balance. Besides this, council members and aldermen are only moderately satisfied with the work pressure. They also have been given more tasks because of matters such as the decentralisations and regional collaboration, which makes their work more complicated. “The number of hours incumbents such as council members spend on these tasks are slowly on the rise: currently about 20 hours per week, Vollaard states.

Differences between council members from coalition and opposition parties

One group of council members is somewhat more negative about everything: the council members in the opposition. They feel less well informed, have to make more of an effort to get a grip on the municipal board and have less influence on the decision-making process. There are also all kinds of other aspects of local democracy with which they express less satisfaction.

Many of them are relatively satisfied with the local democracy. That relativizes the necessity of possible large interventions in the organisation of local governance.

The Basismonitor Politieke Ambtsdragers mostly shows the perspective of the incumbents themselves, but it is actually important to know how they view and experience their offices and local democracy. To academia and the ministry, it is important to get an image of this, and it also has a warning function for the practice of council work. So in that light, it's interesting to see that if you ask the ‘players’ themselves, many of them are quite satisfied with local democracy, Hans Vollaard says. That relativizes the necessity of possible large interventions in the organisation of local governance.

Research Team

A team of researchers from various institutions has carried out the Basismonitor Politieke Ambtsdragers 2024 with support from the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. From the Utrecht University School of Governance (USG), the following researchers collaborated: Lisanne de Blok, Marcel Boogers, Barbara Vis and Hans Vollaard (principal investigator).

More information

Would you like to know more? If you do, please contact Hans Vollaard: j.p.vollaard@uu.nl.

Or read the full report (in Dutch): Aansprekend en uitdagend. Raadsleden, wethouders en burgemeesters over hun ambt in de Basismonitor Politieke Ambtsdragers 2024.