The name is absent

Aliki Mouriki

Dutch educational system that needs to be addressed is the poor achievement levels of children from
disadvantaged groups and a migrant background.

6.2. The process of social concertation

Governments are believed to engage in corporatist policy concertation primarily when they are
in a situation of weakness and need to reinforce their legitimacy in view of carrying out painful re-
forms that are likely to arouse significant opposition (e.g. labour market and welfare reform). What
is sought in this process is support and consent on behalf of social actors that enjoy a veto power
(Afonso, 2009).

“When the state shares pubic space, it usually lacks the legitimacy, competencies, and im-
plementation capacity to single-handedly carry out desired reforms of social and employ-
ment policy. Therefore, formal or informal forums for tripartite social dialogue between the
government and the social partners facilitate their developing a shared understanding of the
problems, as they discuss policy alternatives and their implications, and reach compromises on
a common purpose” (Ebbinghaus 2005, mentioned in Afonso 2009).

As many scholars have observed and the European Commission pointed out, one of the funda-
mental requirements for the implementation and success of the flexicurity agenda is a supportive and
productive social dialogue between the social partners and public authorities. This vital prerequisite
—of fundamental importance in view of generating sufficient support to pursue far reaching and
controversial reforms- raises doubt as to the transferability of the model to countries where social
partnership is not firmly established and levels of social trust are low.

It appears that the strong and long-standing presence of a consensus culture in the Netherlands
and Denmark has played a most significant role in the successful economic and labour market per-
formance in these countries, as opposed to both Spain and Greece, where “consensus” was estab-
lished at a much later stage and under the increasing pressure of the European integration process.

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