Parliamentary and Party Pathways to the Cabinet

Abstract

If positions in local and regional government are a help towards a ministerial career, in some countries at least, a parliamentary background is widely believed to constitute a prerequisite for cabinet membership. The reality is a little different, since only three-quarters of all Western European ministers were members of parliament before joining the government: the proportion of ministers drawn from parliament is thus perhaps not as large as might have been expected. Yet, although a substantial minority reaches the government without being in the legislature, it remains true that for most ministers a seat in parliament opens the way to the cabinet.