Abstract
This chapter focuses on a hardly known matter: how individuals are chosen for the electoral list. The analysis relies on the causation funnel model by Norris (1997) and the inclusiveness and centralization dimensions by Rahart and Hazan (2001) to conclude that the MPs candidates are selected in a centralized and exclusive way; that is to say, far away from the rank-and-file affiliates, the activist and supporters at the local level. Loyalty, party involvement and expertise are the main reasons underlying candidate selection for the electoral lists whilst there are significant differences among parties.
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Notes
- 1.
Note that, in both this chapter and the rest of the book, the study works with a sample of current, active parliamentarians, and so it does not reflect the perspective of those who, having stood for election, were not elected to any parliamentary chamber, as is the case of the Comparative Candidate Survey (http://www.comparativecandidates.org/).
- 2.
Among the contextual factors which affect the individual decision to enter politics, Matthews (1985, p. 34) concluded from several studies that “primary groups—friends, family, acquaintances—and interest groups are important in encouraging candidature”. Among the institutional factors which stand out are the structure of the state and the type of electoral system.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
Defined by Lijphart as the “set of methods for translating the votes of citizens into seats of representatives” (1994, p. 29). The electoral system is composed of the following elements: constituency (or district), candidature, votes, barrier and electoral formula.
- 7.
The seats are distributed in provincial constituencies, except in some regions with a single province and in the island regions.
- 8.
This characteristic is related to the degree of decentralization of selection (Epstein 1967; Hermens 1972; Czudnowski 1975; Matthews 1985; Gallagher and Marsh 1988; Carey and Shugart 1995; Hix 2004; Bermúdez and Cordero 2016). The existence of single-member districts propitiates more decentralized selection processes, linked to local levels, while larger districts tend to generate more centralized selection models (Gallagher and Marsh 1988).
- 9.
Though recognizing the power held by the central elites of the parties in the process (Hopkin 2001, p. 353).
- 10.
Law 3/2007, of 22 March, on the effective equality of women and men. This new legal requirement increased the percentage of female candidates, though, in the smaller districts, the “safe positions” on the lists were mainly occupied by men, who were finally elected to the parliaments (Martínez and Calvo 2010).
- 11.
Both parties tried to channel citizens’ discontent with the crisis and had some electoral success in the European and regional elections (2015), and in the national ones (2015 and 2016). They could not be incorporated to the sample of this project.
- 12.
In 2017 the PP has introduced primary elections to select a pool of candidates for the organs of the party to choose among them the leaders of the lists.
- 13.
Among male parliamentarians, 7% applied directly themselves, while only 4% of women access the lists in this way. There are also differences with respect to the level of education. Of the parliamentarians who have secondary education or lower, 10% applied directly themselves, while this percentage is under 5% among those with a university education. Direct application is more common among the parliamentarians of CiU (30%) and ERC (20%) than in other parties (where it is under 10%), as can be seen in Fig. 5.1.
- 14.
74% among candidates under the age of 37, and 68% among those who have only sat during one legislature, 70% among women. Women parliamentarians have on average spent less time in politics than men (19 years of membership, on average, in comparison with an average of 25 years of men). These differences are statistically significant, at 0.05.
- 15.
The category “taken for granted” refers to those candidates whose inclusion is not due to a selection process or designation for a specific party office, but neither can they be considered self-nominated. This category typically includes parliamentarians whose inclusion in the leading positions on the list was not disputed, given their relevance and their long track record in the party.
- 16.
17% among men, 15% among over-50s, 26% among those with four or more legislatures in office and 20% among “decision-makers”.
- 17.
The mean number of years of membership in the party of ERC and CiU parliamentarians is the lowest among the more traditional parties (a mean of 21.5 and 22 years, respectively). The mean figures of the PP are also low for parliamentarians (20.7 years), as they are for other recently created groups. The global mean number of years of party membership is 22.4.
- 18.
Obtained by dividing the number of years that the parliamentarian has been a party member by their age.
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Coller, X., Cordero, G., Echavarren, J.M. (2018). Recruitment and Selection. In: Coller, X., Jaime-Castillo, A., Mota, F. (eds) Political Power in Spain. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63826-3_5
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