The components of the reform that have remained in midstream, in the absence of resolute implementation, include one that it is no exaggeration to call fundamental inasmuch as it would have deeply affected the operation and organization of all administrations by working an authentic “cultural revolution”, replacing legal formalism with the culture of performance, of results, of attention to the quality of services and recognition and advancement of merit and professionalism. The reference is to the part of the reform governed by the opening articles of Legislative Decree 80/1998, subsequently incorporated in the consolidated law of 2001: the provisions establishing that for each administration the political authorities are responsible for defining public policies, translating them into strategic guidelines, setting precise, quantified goals, and introducing objective, reliable systems of evaluation; that administrators are completely autonomous and accountable for managing their units; that careers, promotions, removal from position, and even a part of pay must be related to results; and that public employees can be dismissed under the same rules that prevail in private law (and, consequently, for just cause). Although these provisions have been on the books for a decade, only a few administrations have applied them with conviction. The objectives, when they exist, are often generic and vague; performance is either not measured at all or is assessed in purely summary and discretionary fashion; the portion of pay linked to results is often minimal and not infrequently distributed to all, irrespective of results. The number of cases where incompetents or “slackers” have been fired can be counted with one’s fingers.