Over time, these people develop huge networks. They know laws and regulations better than the elected officials (who are busy with politics)
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As a result, they wield far more power than their job titles would indicate. Often, they define virtually all policy at a practical level.
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The US is in many ways a similar system, although lobbyists - already powerful in Norway - are also vastly more powerful.
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Culturally, this is not widely recognized in the US. It is easy to miss how much power belongs to those appointed rather than elected.
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It's not unreasonable to trace a lot of the US's rampants militarism to outside the executive branch. This will be a problem under Trump.
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We have already seen both the FBI and the CIA attempting to swing the election. I expect this will only continue to get worse with time.
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As more powerful factions have the rug swept out from under their feet, there will be a lot of broken bones and petty infighting.
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In a country as powerful as the US, such infighting will entail more than a little bit of collateral damage. Interesting times...
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A lot of the bureaucrats and functionaries were appointed for other reasons than competency - and this system is too big to predict.
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The US is a militaristic police state, and one of the world's biggest trade economies. It is also full of people who hate those things.
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I am not convinced that anyone knows what's about to happen. This is a huge stash of oil and guns resting on top of a powder keg.