I put together some thoughts and research on public sector reform and the 'permanent government' earlier, which I thought you may be interested in...

Why, perhaps even more noticeably than other election promises, have successive governments’ pledges to reform the public sector, failed? Why, when previously in opposition vociferously calling for changes in practice, do politicians seem to substantially dilute their proposals? What exactly happens to the politicians we elect once they get into government?
You can read the lot of it here: System justification and public sector reform: The psychology of the permanent government | Dr Ciarán Mc Mahon