Classifying Party Leaders’ Selection Methods in Parliamentary Democracies

1. There are several exceptions to this rule. For instance, a dominant figure may establish a party, install him or herself as its leader and compete in general election, as in the cases of Silvio Berlusconi (Forza Italia and recently “The People of Freedom” Party) or Charles de Gaulle (Gaullist Party). Alternatively, the party may choose a different prime minister candidate than their leader. For example, when Gerhard Schröder became the Chancellor of Germany in 1998, he was not at the time party leader (Social Democrats, SPD). That position was manned by Oskar Lafontaine. Only a year later, following Lafontaine’s resignation, did Schröder assume this position.

2. In most cases, prime ministers are the leaders of the largest party in parliament (with or without absolute parliamentary majority) or the largest party in the ruling coalition. Only in rare cases do they belong to other parties.

3. It is interesting to note that the literature on leadership selection is skewed in focus: the majority of works deals with British parties. Alderman and Carter (Citation1991, Citation1993, Citation1995, Citation2000, Citation2002), for instance, studied at least five cases of leadership contests in the United Kingdom.

4. The first to introduce a more inclusive selectorate were the Liberals in 1976. They were followed by the Labour Party in 1981 and by the Conservatives in 1998.

5. Indeed, this was one of the main reasons that led to the abolition of an exclusive selectorate in favor of a more inclusive one.

6. Actually, the Labour Party allocates an equal weight to three distinct voters’ sections: the PPG, “ordinary” party members and affiliated trade unions members. In practice, turnout amongst the trade union section is very low (see Quinn, Citation2004).

7. Obvious requirements of minimal age or citizenship are excluded from the discussion.

8. This strict requirement has twice (1992, 1994) prevented Ken Livingstone from competing for the post of party leader, and also ensured the “coronation” of Gordon Brown in 2007, after no other candidate surpassed this threshold. The 12.5% threshold applies to cases in which the leader position is vacant. In cases of leadership challenge, the threshold is set even higher: a prospective candidate must present the support of at least 20% of the party MPs.

9. The British Conservatives used a unique requirement between 1965 and 1997: in order to win the first ballot, a candidate not only had to secure the majority of votes, but also to best his second place opponent by at least 15%.

10. There are parties that set different rules for challenging the leader while the party is in government (when the leader is prime minister) against while it is in the opposition. While not in government, the British Labour Party’s leader is elected for a one‐year term and is exposed to challenges on an annual basis. However, when the party is in government, the party conference must first approve a challenge. In the Israeli Labour Party, when the leader is not prime minister, s/he may be challenged twice during the parliamentary term. When the leader is also prime minister, s/he may only be challenged once, a few months before the next general elections.

11. In fact, the PPG have increased its control over the de‐selecting of leaders and the nominating of candidates. This was demonstrated well in 2003: First, the incumbent leader (Iain Duncan Smith) was ousted following a no‐confidence vote held in the PPG. Then, the MPs made sure that only one candidate (Michael Howard) would be nominated, thus depriving the party members of any role.