‘I bend, indeed, but never break’: Formal rules and informal processes of candidate selection for European elections
Abstract
Introduction
Theoretical considerations
Why informality should ‘rule’ candidate selection for European elections
According to these perspectives, parties would repeal their candidate selection rules to respond to changes in the distribution of power within political parties. Parties would hence factor in short-term circumstances – such as an electoral defeat (or its anticipation), a leadership succession or a party merger or split – when time does not allow for a rule change (Barnea and Rahat, 2007).Statutes are constraints accepted by those who have managed to institutionalize a certain balance of forces inside the party, and are resources that can be used against certain adversaries. […] Far from regulating everything, statutes give way to a game that allows the emergence of groups and structures. (Offerlé, 1987: 57)
How may selection practices differ from rules?
Data and methods
Results
Formal rules kept | Formal rules replaced | ||
Informal practices align with formal rules | Complementary Informal Rules = formal rules (adding actors or levels) (same letter, same spirit) N = 10; 19.6% | Absence of changeN = 11; 21.6% | Substitutive informal rules (same spirit, different letter) = actors replaced by similar ones N = 5; 9.8% |
ODS (CZ) | NEOS (AT) | MR (BE) | |
AFD (DE) | Ecolo (BE) | UPyD (ES) | |
PNV (ES) | Die Linke (DE) | PSOE (ES) | |
Vasemmistoliitto (FI) | Podemos (ES) | Socialistische Partij (NL) | |
EELV (FR) | UDI (FR) | Miljöpartiet de gröna (SE) | |
Finn Gael (IE) | VVD (NL) | ||
Forza Italia (IT) | PvDA (NL) | ||
CDA (NL) | UDMR (RO) | ||
SLD (PL) | Labour Party (UK) | ||
PNL (RO) | UKIP (UK) | ||
Green Party (UK) | |||
Informal practices diverge from formal rules | Accommodating informal rules (same letter, different spirit) = change of most influential actor(s) | Competing informal rules = totally different set of actors and levels (different letter, different spirit) | |
N = 17; 33.3% | N = 8; 15.7% | ||
Groen (BE) | KDU-ČSL (CZ) | ||
cdH (BE) | ANO 2011 (CZ) | ||
PS (BE) | SPD (DE) | ||
Open VLD (BE) | CDU (DE) | ||
Svobodní (CZ) | Syriza (EL) | ||
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (DE) | PP (ES) | ||
Reformierakond (EE) | UMP (FR) | ||
Unió Democràtica de Catalunya (ES) | NCD (IT) | ||
PS (FR) | PL (MA) | ||
MODEM (FR) | CDU (PT) | ||
MsZP (HU) | |||
Sinn Féin (IE) | |||
PD (IT) | |||
L’Altra Europa con Tsipras (IT) | |||
D66 (NL) | |||
PO (PL) | |||
PMP (RO) |
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Declaration of conflicting interests
Funding
ORCID iD
Footnotes
Political parties have various rules that organize the selection of candidates for elections. Yet, in practice, there may be some differences in the way these rules are applied. In the case of your national parties for the selection of candidates for European elections, how did the process work in practices? What were the different steps you had to go through and which body actually intervened in your selection? In the MEP survey, question no. 3 read: ‘Political parties have made their lists for the last European elections in different manners. In your own national party, which actors or party bodies have intervened in your own selection?’ The respondents were offered three selection steps (Initiative–Amendment–Approval) and asked to tick one or several box(es) per selection step, only when appropriate. In the experts’ questionnaire, respondents were asked: ‘What is the statutory role (‘official story’) that each of the following actors (question no. 3)/levels (question no. 4) plays in the candidate selection process for European elections?’ They were offered a list of party organs in question no. 3 and levels in question no. 4 and asked to tick the box(es) corresponding to the steps in which they did intervene. In addition, experts were asked to describe the process detailed in party rules.
References
Biographies
Supplementary Material
Supplemental Material
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