It's not the egos and ambitions, it's the oversight and accountability. You even said it yourself, there was no accountability for waste.
When the top 1/3 of the org chart is gonna get fired by the next administration regardless there's no reason (for the current administration) to hold them accountable for not doing good work (not to mention that most people aren't going to be harsh to their own political appointees) and that sort of culture rolls down hill really well.
I don't think this is accurate. Aside from the minister, they're all civil servants. For example, the current Deputy Minister of Finance was appointment by a different leader (from a different party) over 5 years ago.
Just because they are not politicians does not mean they do not get changed out. In my experience in a particular US state the top three layers (director and two levels of reports) pretty much all get changed out with the administration. Positions below that are (mostly) union positions and therefore protected by the union.
Yup. Years ago, an employer sold some software to a Canadian government department. Every couple years, it becomes somebody new's bailiwick, and I get a couple emails asking what it is and how it works. I am not sure that it has ever been actually used, but they keep paying the renewal invoices.
When the top 1/3 of the org chart is gonna get fired by the next administration regardless there's no reason (for the current administration) to hold them accountable for not doing good work (not to mention that most people aren't going to be harsh to their own political appointees) and that sort of culture rolls down hill really well.