Report Think tank Populari December 2014 Lorenzetti’s Brush: More Governance, Less Government For more of our publications please visit us at www.populari.org www.populari.org Page | 1 Lorenzetti’s Brush: More Governance, Less Government LORENZETTI’S BRUSH: MORE GOVERNANCE, LESS GOVERNMENT a Story of the Effects of Good and Bad State Governance Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Renaissance Allegory 4 Welcome to Reality 7 Dogs-Man’s Best Friends? 9 Passing the Buck 12 Cantonal Solution 14 Municipal Solution 19 Back to Square One 24 Conclusion 27 Page | 3 Lorenzetti’s Brush: More Governance, Less Government Executive Summary ‘Good governance’ is one of the most commonly used and heard buzzwords in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Aside from the likes of reconciliation, rule of law or constitutional reform, it has been one of the focuses of reforms, interventions and donor activities for much of the country’s 20 years’ post-war period. While the concept is difficult to define, it is certain that the implications of it permeate the lives of ‘ordinary citizens’ every day. Good governance is related to just about any policy, ranging from social policy or rural development, healthcare provision or educational standards, to road maintenance or utility policies. Experiencing inadequate provision of drinking water, a collapsing healthcare system or low schooling standards, it is clear to almost every citizen of BiH that the government in this sense is not performing well. But in spite of the central role good governance plays in ensuring the (at least the very basic) quality of lives of Bosnians, it is not a topic discussed in the media, among citizens or let alone by politicians. To demonstrate this and show the consequences of side-lining real-life issues for other, nearly other-worldly ones, we selected one of the most contentious topics in the capital of BiH at the moment - stray dogs, or rather the policy of animal welfare and protection. As our paper explains, this particular policy and its implementation in the Canton of Sarajevo - while they might seem trivial at first - in fact lie at the intersection of all possible deficiencies, ailments, omissions, faults and failures of governance in BiH. What’s more, systemic flaws illustrated in this story are also a common thread in other regions of BiH, and when continuously tolerated by various segments of the society they are leading towards the deepening of the existing crisis and the further crumbling of the already bad governance. Think tank Populari 2014 Page | 4 Renaissance Allegory Figure 1. Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Detail from the fresco “The Allegory of Bad Government” (Source: Web Gallery of Art) In the center there is Tyranny; dressed in black, with fangs and horns, and a dagger in its hand. It is surrounded by Cruelty, Deceit, Fraud, Fury, Division, and War. Avarice, Pride, and Vainglory are flying over it. All of them together rule the barren landscape, the crumbling city, the suffering people; the people are hungry and poor, and in constant confrontation. This is the painting1 of Ambrogio Lorenzetti2, one of the most important Italian painters of Siena, which shows the consequences of bad government. It was painted in the Salon of Nine3 as one in a series of three frescoes. The scene of the town reflects a deviation: nothing is as it should be. The city is in ruins: windows are wide open, houses are collapsing, and the economy is almost non-existent. Nothing is in operation except for the armory. The streets are deserted. This composition is facing a fresco titled“Effects of Good Governance in the City and in the Country” on the opposite wall. There, Lorenzetti painted a bustling city, with all its treasures, a sort of utopia where humans took control over the society. 1 Ambrogio Lorenzetti: “The Allegory of Bad Government” (26/2/1338 – 29/5/1339). 2 Ambrogio Lorenzetti was an Italian painter, born in Siena around 1290. He is well-known for his innovations and presentation of secular and humanistic themes in his work. 3 The Salon of Nine (Ital. Sala dei Nove) is located in the town hall of Siena, Italy. The city council that ruled Siena sat in the salon. Three out of four walls are covered with frescoes, with the south wall (the one with the windows), the only one without a fresco. Page | 5 Lorenzetti’s Brush: More Governance, Less Government Figure 2. Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Detail from the fresco “Effects of Good Government in the City and in the Country” (Source: Web Gallery of Art) People are in a hurry; they are producing, buying and selling. Shops are open, captivating the passers-by with a variety of products. A wedding is underway, and girls are dancing in the streets that are neat and safe, albeit busy and full of people. The entire scene is a display of an atmosphere of well-being and prosperity, possible only because of good government presented in Lorenzetti’s third fresco - “The Allegory of Good Government.” The central figure, an old and wise ruler, surrounded by the virtues of Peace, Fortitude and Prudence on the left, and Magnanimity, Temperance and Justice on the right, symbolizes good government. Think tank Populari 2014 Page | 6 Figure 3. Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Detail from the fresco “The Allegory of Good Government” (Source: Web Gallery of Art) The fact that the very Council that ruled Siena commissioned these frescoes as a reminder of the potential consequences of their own (lack of) work proves that good government was one of the most important political ideals in the 14th century Siena. The mechanisms devised for fighting injustice and bad governance were introduced to the extent that the nine members of the local councils in Siena were exchanged every two months for new members to minimize the risk of corruption4. When Lorenzetti painted the most important frescoes of Siena around 1339, they primarily served political and didactic purposes, representing the common good as the foundation of good governance in the Italian city-states5. Over seven-hundred-year-old political ideals epitomized in the frescoes still symbolize a warning sign to contemporary politicians. Compulsory rotation of members of the councils used at the time remains considered a necessity in a well-governed democracy. It is one of the mechanisms ensuring political moderation as it keeps politicians in a situation where they might have to leave their elevated stations at any time6. Neglecting this mechanism and the common good, while putting private interests to the fore, causes what is today called “bad governance.” 4 Dr. Beth Harris & Dr. Steven Zucker: “Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Palazzo Pubblico frescos: Allegory and Effect of Good and Bad Government,” Khan Academy, 2013. 5 Rubinstein, Nicolai. 1958. “Political Ideas in Sienese Art: The Frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti and Taddeo di Bartolo in the Palazzo Pubblico”, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 21(3/4); 179-207. 6 Adam Przeworski, Michael Alvarez, Jose Antonio Cheibub & Fernando Limongi: “Democracy and Development.” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Page | 7 Lorenzetti’s Brush: More Governance, Less Government Welcome to Reality Seven centuries after Lorenzetti political opportunism and neglect of common good are the key causes of bad governance in Italy, but also around the world. Naples, the third-largest municipality in Italy, has been struggling with the problem of waste disposal since 1994. Several factors, including corrupted and problematic waste management businesses, the refusal of municipal workers to collect garbage, and political incompetence, have led to the escalation of the problem and emergency situations in several instances when the workers refused to transport the trash to brimming landfills. The 2007/2008 winter in Naples was marked by plastic garbage bags that have flooded the streets and town squares, while toxic and medical waste lay along the main street. Air, soil, and water - everything was polluted, and the health of the citizens of Naples was put at risk, even though they have been paying increasing prices for deteriorating communal services. Figure 4. Piles of garbage in the streets of Naples, 2007. (Source: TheGuardian.com; Photo: Ciro Fusco/EPA) After several unsuccessful attempts to quickly fix the problem - such as to export garbage to Germany or the Netherlands - citizens were still dissatisfied with the services offered to them. Exactly a year ago (2013), tens of thousands of Neapolitans took to the streets because of a “garbage” crisis. They demanded the provision of basic services they have regularly been paying for. Langella, a resident of Naples quarter Terzigno, told the reporters: “It is terrible. The state has abandoned us. We have to keep our children inside, with the doors and windows shut, but even that is not enough [to protect ourselves from the stench of garbage].”7 7 Poor Waste Management Sparks Protest in Naples, Waste Management World. 18 November 2013. Think tank Populari 2014 Page | 8 Similar problems are part of everyday life in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Government inefficiency, lack of transparency, irrationality in prioritizing and spending, bureaucratic procedures, monopolistic nature of public administration as well as the inaccessibility to citizens are all integral parts of bad governance. Only that in BiH, these problems that are common in developed democracies and economies too, have greater or worse consequences due to the country’s inertia, as well as the asymmetric administrative and complex political structures. Two entities, one with 10 cantons and 79 municipalities, and the other with 63 municipalities with no cantons, independent Brčko District, and 12 cities are levels that together with relevant policies form the basis of sustainable economic and social development of the community. But, instead of socio-economic development, an improving quality of services or the establishment of new ones, Bosnians most often hear about the different interpretations of the imprecise legislation and the switching of responsibilities from one administrative level to another.