Closeness to the citizens

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Official photo of the Swiss Federal Council  - the seven-member Federal Council with the Federal Chancellor surrounded by citizens (2008)

As a citizen one is administrative or a government referred that appeal to the needs and problems of the citizen -oriented and their interests received. This orientation can also refer to political parties , initiatives or associations . In the organizational teachings for public administrations such as New Public Management and New Control Model, “ customer orientation ” is also used for the term “closeness to the citizen” .

According to the Federal Constitutional Court, there is always a tension between administrative efficiency and proximity to the citizen. In his judgment, closeness to the citizen is described as a binding principle (cf. subsidiarity ).

Understanding about closeness to citizens

The understanding of closeness to citizens is diverse. In connection with proximity to the citizen, authorities are generally expected to have " unbureaucratic " procedures such as easy accessibility, immediate receipt of urgent matters and precise determination of the entry date by the administration . In a survey on how the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia could be politically strengthened, more proximity to the citizen by responding to the citizens and strengthening the influence of the citizens is mentioned. Instead of a precise explanation of the term, closeness to the citizen is often described by more in a sub-area of ​​citizen concerns - for example cooperation through the use of electronic media in order to strengthen the closeness to the citizen and service orientation of the administration, or it simply becomes the intention, as in the Lisbon Treaty declares to be as close to the citizens as possible . There are two camps when it comes to being close to the people: One declares that it is close to the people; the other calls for closeness to the citizens.

While the German Association of Cities stays close to the citizens, Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to "make Europe more citizen-friendly ".

Steps to develop closer to the citizen

Efforts to date have been in the direction of the citizen's commune , in which the administration is set up “closer” to the citizen (more decentralized) or converted into a service provider (catchphrase “The citizen becomes a customer!”). The objective is the broadest possible participatory democracy . However, only a few cities have taken this step , including self-governing citizens' commissions or citizen participation in the municipal budget, and there are concerns about insufficient control of the mayors .

Influencing factors

Size of the local authority

The political municipality as the closest administrative unit is most likely to be perceived by citizens as being close to the citizens, because a local municipality is most directly involved with the needs and wishes of its residents or citizens . Citizens' surveys show this in terms of staff (service orientation, helpfulness, competence), opening times or information policy.

Conversely, an administrative unit tends to be more “remote from citizens” the larger it is in terms of inhabitants or area . This is particularly pronounced in dictatorships , although - as in democracies - in addition to the administrative structure, the personality of the head of government or the heads of the regional authorities and their popularity play a role.

Administrative and territorial reform

The objectives of an administrative reform (reorganization of the public administration) with regard to its structure and processes are, in addition to greater efficiency and transparency, also closer to the citizen. The latter is little affected by structural reforms , but functional reforms (e.g. by relocating competences to the municipalities) and regional reforms (fewer counties or districts, amalgamation of municipalities, local structure). In 1968, the goal of efficient municipalities (at least 5000 inhabitants) was a long way off, because 80% of the 24,000 German municipalities had fewer than 2000 inhabitants and should have given up services (e.g. schools, baths).

The territorial reform that has taken place since then (Germany had 11,200 municipalities in 2013) resulted in a "loss of spatial proximity", which was counteracted by administrative communities, two-tier structure (overall municipality and local representation) and the bundling of simple services on site, while more difficult ones remained in the headquarters. However , resistance to further subsidiary reforms at special authorities was too great.

Requirement profile for mayor

The possibility of direct election of mayors was introduced primarily as a step towards closer proximity to the citizens. In 2003, a comparative analysis and citizen survey in five cities in North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg examined their effects on the “first generation” .

All of the surveys revealed the same four main characteristics a mayor should have:

  • credibility
  • Closeness to the citizens
  • leadership skills
  • Party independence (in the sense of “neutrality towards all parties and groups”) and
  • Willingness to conflict (with regard to one's own party on important issues)
  • followed by representation, commitment to minorities, administrative experience, community ties and own political conception.
Closeness to the citizens

Although the paths are different, they are based on the model of the citizen community, which 62% of the mayors in Baden-Württemberg and 52% in North Rhine-Westphalia have set themselves the goal. Other data from the survey also confirm these initiatives.

Party independence

The desired closeness to the citizens often competes with the demands of one's own party - in North Rhine-Westphalia much more than in Baden-Württemberg. The time required for citizens and their own parliamentary group is on average 17.0 and 4.5 hours in North Rhine-Westphalia, but 21.5 and 2.1 hours in Baden-Württemberg.

Two other parameters on party freedom and candidate list show something similar. Of the municipalities with over 20,000 inhabitants, 20% of the mayors in Baden-Württemberg are non-party, compared to only 8.4% in North Rhine-Westphalia. Most recently 42% of the North Rhine-Westphalian mayors came from the area of ​​local politics, while in Baden-Württemberg it was 14%.

leadership skills

48% of the mayors in Baden-Wuerttemberg see themselves as the predominantly determining person, but only 27% in North Rhine-Westphalia. This is related to different municipal regulations . In North Rhine-Westphalia, the local council has far more veto rights .

This has a particular effect on direct elections if the mayor does not have a majority in the council, which is more common in North Rhine-Westphalia. In such constellations (known in French as cohabitation ) there is more party competition, and 67% of the mayor's competencies are curtailed by the council majority. If there is a clear majority, however, they will be expanded by 70%.

The study authors see a need for reform in the North Rhine-Westphalian municipal code and in the structuring of local politics in the parties in order to better meet the expectations of the citizens.

Internet presence

With the increasing importance of the Internet for administrative processes, the proximity of a regional authority to the citizen is also judged on the basis of the quality and comprehensibility of the website . In addition to their influence on the relationship between citizens and administration, the effects on previous communication channels (personal conversation, telephone or written contact) must also be taken into account.

The website is now an integral part of almost every municipality (93% in Austria in 2010). It is expected by citizens, business and tourism alike and means, above all, a lot of public relations. The most popular online service is the event calendar , followed by local weather, city ​​map and administrative information. Even those who prefer to speak in person want to get an overview beforehand. For official channels, 80% of citizens want to know the forms in advance and 75% want to know the responsible department. On the other hand, public participation such as discussion forums or wikis are rarely offered.

In 2008, the Institute for Political Science at the University of Duisburg examined e-government and the websites of 60 different cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Available online:

  • 70% press releases, 62% archive
  • Opening times 99%, route description 47%
  • Administrative services catalog 84%
  • Forms available online 84%, applications possible online 28%
  • Citizen service 77%, possibility of complaint 37%
  • Click to the mayor 35%, to the citizens' office 17%
  • Click to complaint management: 13%
  • Reaction to user behavior 33%

A “Citizen-Proximity Index” of the websites derived from this showed 15 × very good and good, 15 × above average, 14 × average, 9 × below average, 7 × poor. In terms of content, the large municipalities are only better than the smaller ones when it comes to press work and online application processing.

In the five years since then, small communities have followed suit, as various awards show, e.g. B. the Digital Opportunities Foundation . Internet experts expect significant effects on the structure and process organization of city administrations - which they do not directly confirm.

Person-related processing such as tax returns or contracts that require authentication through a well-secured electronic signature are sometimes problematic . This would even make the much-discussed e-voting project possible. There have been first attempts since 2004, but there have also been unexpected problems and opposing opinions. According to Claus Leggewie , the effort is disproportionate to the effect.

Citizen survey

It is difficult to ascertain to what extent the closeness to the citizens sought by the administration is actually felt. One of the most thorough studies was published in 2008 by the Institute for Political Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen . Were interviewed

  • 160 employees of the city administration in Duisburg and Mülheim an der Ruhr on the administrative reforms of the last ten years and their effects on working conditions and contacts with citizens
  • 150 citizens of both cities on the closeness of the city administration and the expectations of their service quality
  • and examined the websites of 60 cities and districts in NRW.

Of the employees , 22% see the goal of “service orientation” being achieved, for 40% it is only a “target model”, which 65% consider to be very important. In contrast, it hardly plays a role for career opportunities and personnel appraisals. The newly introduced complaint management is assessed as predominantly positive (58%), partly neutral (32%). Budget and personnel cuts as well as the outsourcing of services are rejected to 67%.

The citizen survey shows a medium distribution: 2% "very satisfied", 32% "satisfied", 40% "partly / partly", 17% "somewhat unsatisfied", 5% "completely unsatisfied" and 9% no answer.

At the last official contact, the citizens saw themselves 43% in the role of "citizen", 26% as "customer", 22% as "supplicant" and 6% as "negotiating partner".

Regarding the power structure, 69% of those questioned have the feeling that the public servants “have more leverage”, 42% think that they cannot defend themselves against their decisions. Nevertheless, 49% state that they can talk to administrative staff on an equal footing.

61% of those questioned are satisfied with the service itself. If the time period seemed appropriate, 81% of the people were satisfied; if the opposite was the case, 53% were dissatisfied.

Initiatives to get closer to the citizens

For a long time there have been a wide variety of models and initiatives to get closer to the citizens. In addition to procedures for people's legislation (referendums, petitions and referendums), the direct election of members of parliament or mayors , the possibility of preferential votes and, at the local level, the citizens' commune (in Germany in some cities) and participatory budgeting (for the first time in Brazil 1989) should be mentioned. The political scientist Karlheinz Niclauss also recommends more intra-party democracy through voting on individual issues and programs as well as the nomination of candidates, which is only slowly being implemented.

In addition, there are citizens' initiatives , voter groups and special organizations throughout Europe to promote greater proximity to the citizen, from municipalities to federal and European politics. Examples are:

NGO "More Democracy!"

In 2003, the non-partisan initiative Mehr Demokratie ! founded. This non-profit NGO is committed to direct democracy, citizen participation and better voting rights at all political levels in Germany and the European Union.

It now comprises 13 regional associations, has around 40 employees and an advisory board of trustees with 50 members from science, culture and politics. Its annual budget is around one million euros and is supported by members, sponsors and 3,600 donors.

One of its proponents is the former Federal Minister Heiner Geißler , who was the mediator of the arbitration talks for Stuttgart 21 in 2010 . In the light of the coalition negotiations in 2013, he called for more direct democracy at the federal level.

Although a three-stage popular legislation is constitutional in all German federal states, it is to be supplemented by a current (as of 2014) draft law to include optional referenda.

Voting community “Citizens' proximity” in Bielefeld

In the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Bielefeld, there is a free voter community called “ Citizens' proximity, voter community for Bielefeld ”.

Local voter groups

Since around 2000, numerous voter initiatives have emerged in German-speaking countries that strive to be closer to the citizens at community level and also have this catchphrase in their name. Some particularly successful with a voter share of over 20 percent are:

  • In Attenkirchen (Upper Bavaria) the community- oriented group with 8 of 14 seats,
  • in Au (Breisgau) the community of voters for closeness to the citizen and environmental protection with 32.9%
  • in Bermatingen (hinterland Bodensee) the list for proximity to citizens and the environment with 24.9%
  • the Free Voting Community Trier , which defines itself as close to the citizen and independent of parties
  • in Sassenburg the action near the citizens of Sassenburg (ABS) or
  • in Wittnau (Breisgau) the Wittnau citizens for village maintenance and closeness to the citizen with 25.7%.
  • in Heiligenstadt (Upper Franconia)

Some citizens 'lists also have this orientation, such as the citizens' list for Dortmund and in Austria the free citizens 'list (Burgenland) and the Salzburg citizens' list .

A large number of other municipal groups call themselves a “citizen-oriented list” or “citizen-oriented group”. Many of them get between 10 and 20% of the votes, including in Germany Amstetten (Württemberg), Berg (Upper Palatinate), Breitbrunn (Lower Franconia), Danndorf, Ebelsbach, Engstingen, Ensdorf (Upper Palatinate), Gries (Palatinate), Höxter, Kastl ( Lauterachtal), Lingen (Ems), Lohra, Heiligenstadt (Upper Franconia), Marienmünster, Parchim, Pettstadt, Pinneberg and Viersen as well as Navis and Nesselwängle in Tyrol.

See also

literature

Karl Habsburg (ed.): Europe citizens close. Pan-Europe Austria, Vienna 1998.

Web links

Wiktionary: closeness to the citizen  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Duden online: Proximity to the citizen
  2. ^ Kuno Schedler and Jürg Felix: Change thanks to new legitimation. (PDF, 81 kB) Customer orientation as the basis for a new sense of purpose in administration. (No longer available online.) In: Alexandria Research Platform. University of St. Gallen, 2000, archived from the original on April 29, 2014 ; Retrieved April 16, 2014 . in Christian Belz / Thomas Bieger (eds.). Service competence and innovative business models , Thexis-Verlag, St. Gallen, March 2000, ISBN 3-908545-54-4 , pp. 124–142.
  3. ^ Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court: BVerfGE 79, 127 - Rastede. Resolution - 2 BvR 1619, 1628/83 - in the proceedings on the constitutional complaints of the municipality of Rastede, represented by the municipality director, - 2 BvR 1619/83 - and the city of B ..., represented by the city director - 2 BvR 1628/83 - against Section 1 (1) and (2) of the Lower Saxony Implementing Act on the Waste Disposal Act of April 9, 1973 (GVBl. P. 109). November 23, 1988. Retrieved June 23, 2014 .
  4. ↑ General rules of procedure for the authorities of the Free State of Bavaria (AGO). In: GVBl 2000, p. 873, § 5. December 12, 2000, p. § 5, Citizens' proximity , accessed on January 15, 2014 .
  5. ↑ The country as a political level of action. (PDF, 189 kB) Opinions and attitudes of the citizens in North Rhine-Westphalia to federalism, the role of the state parliament and state politics. In: Forsa, Society for Social Research and Statistical Analyzes mbH. Landtag NRW, May 17, 2013, p. 36 , accessed on January 9, 2014 (file name: 1906_PK_Forsa_Das_Land_als_politische_Handlungsebene_120613.pdf).
  6. ↑ Key points on the Open Government Strategy "Open.NRW". E-collaboration. In: Future Forum "Digital Citizen Participation", Open Government and Open Parliament in NRW. The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, May 17, 2013, accessed on January 29, 2014 .
  7. ^ Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community , accessed on January 12, 2014 . C306 / 15 and C306 / 150
  8. ↑ a b Frankfurt Declaration. (PDF, 31 kB) “Strengthening Europe - for its citizens, for its cities”. In: 37th Annual General Meeting of the German Association of Cities. Deutscher Staädtetag, April 25, 2013, p. 2 , accessed on January 14, 2014 : "Quotation: Cities create and practice closeness to the citizens, they are closest to the people."
  9. ↑ Aims of the Foundation Alliance for Citizen-Friendly Federal States. In: buergernaher-bundesstaat.de. Foundation Alliance for Citizen-Friendly States, 2004, archived from the original on March 6, 2005 ; accessed on November 18, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Speech by Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel at the general meeting of the German Association of Cities on April 24, 2013 in Frankfurt am Main. Bulletin 48-1. In: bundesregierung.de. German Federal Government, April 27, 2013, accessed on March 10, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Lars Holtkamp and Jörg Bogumil: Citizens Commune and Local Governance. (PDF (90 kB)) (No longer available online.) In: Local Governance - more transparency and closeness to the citizen? Lilian Schwalb, Heike Walk, 2007, pp. 231 - 251 , archived from the original on May 19, 2014 ; accessed on May 16, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (see, Chair for Public Administration, Urban and Regional Policy, Ruhr University Bochum (Ed.), accessed on June 29, 2014) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / homepage.rub.de
  12. ↑ Dieter Grunow: Proximity to the citizen as an object of empirical implementation research. (PDF; 63.3 KB) Lecture at the memory symposium for Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Derlien. In: uni-bamberg.de. P. 10 , archived from the original on January 13, 2014 ; accessed on October 22, 2018 .
  13. ^ J. Bogumil, W. Jann: Verwaltungswissenschaft in Deutschland , Springer 2008 p. 222 f.
  14. ↑ Jörg Bogumil, David H. Gehne, Lars Holtkamp: Mayor and municipal regulations in performance comparison . In: express service. Information for advice and administration . No. 10/2003 . City of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2003, ISSN  2364-0618 , p. 337–339 ( full text ( memento of February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) [PDF; 104 kB ; accessed on May 5, 2020]).
  15. ↑ Jörg Bogumil, David H. Gehne, Lars Holtkamp: Mayor and municipal regulations in performance comparison . In: express service. Information for advice and administration . No. 10/2003 . City of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2003, ISSN  2364-0618 , p. 339 ( full text ( memento of February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) [PDF; 104 kB ; accessed on May 5, 2020]).
  16. ↑ Report 2005: Cantonal websites with varying degrees of proximity to citizens ( Memento of the original from January 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / alt.kleinreport.ch
  17. ↑ Hink / Rupp / Parycek / Pirker: E-Government in Communities , p.22-44, Austrian Association of Municipalities 2010 ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gemeindebund.at
  18. ^ University of Duisburg-Essen, Prof. Dieter Grunow: Research results on the project “Citizens and Administration” at a glance , Internet section (p. 7–9), Duisburg 2008
  19. ↑ Website award, Aktion Mensch & Stiftung Digitale Chances, Berlin 2009 ( Memento of the original dated February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.initiatived21.de
  20. ↑ BPB: E-Democracy - New Citizenship or Virtual Air Bubble?
  21. ^ University of Duisburg-Essen, Prof. Dieter Grunow : Research results on the project “Citizens and Administration” at a glance , citizen survey (pp.10-14), Duisburg 2008
  22. ^ Karlheinz Niclauss: Five ways to citizen-oriented democracy , Berlin 1999
  23. ↑ Heiner Geißler for direct democracy at the federal level. In: mehr-demokratie.de. November 11, 2013, accessed January 9, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Bill referendum (pdf file)