THE HAGUE - The government must not constantly develop new policy without paying attention to its execution. The Netherlands lags far behind countries such as Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the US in terms of effective administration, concludes the self-appointed 'Belgians Do It Better Commission' in a manifesto presented yesterday.

The commission's members include Financial Markets Authority chairman Arthur Docters van Leeuwen, The Hague mayor Wim Deetman and his Rotterdam counterpart Ivo Opstelten, professor Roel in 't Veld en Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) alderman M. Pastors. "Out of concern and frustration about the bad management of the Dutch government in recent years," they compared public administration internationally and "At their own expense," their spokesman J. de Jong said.

The commission discovered that in Denmark, the US, Germany and "even in Belgium," governments succeed in tackling certain social problems directly. It concludes that combating fraud, food safety, healthcare waiting lists and partnership by the police is far more focused on execution there. The four countries also use ICT applications better, the commission considers.

Despite reams of reports on effective government, the approach lags behind in the Netherlands, because "the causes of the failures are not tackled". Managers and bodies hide behind "equivocation," which hampers decisiveness. The commission fears that "the Dutch politicians will in the coming period, including the cabinet formation, again discuss public administration in the usual way. But we want a far-reaching modernization. "