The Choice of Spitzenkandidaten: A Comparative Analysis of the Europarties’ Selection Procedures

Abstract

The selection of leading candidates by the political families, the so-called Spitzenkandidaten, is relatively groundbreaking as it is the first form of political recruitment organized at the EU level. The literature on candidate selection procedures has so far concentrated on national parties and their procedures. To our knowledge the analytical model has not yet been applied at the EU level. This article will fill this gap by examining the selection procedures of Europarties, more particularly for their EC presidency candidates, a novelty of the 2014 European Parliament elections. Based on the analysis of the procedures applied within the European People's Party (EPP), the Party of European Socialists (PES), the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE), the European Green Party (EGP), and the Party of the European Left (EL), one of the main findings of this article is that the procedures are largely copy-paste from the Europarties' internal procedures for selecting a president. This can largely be explained by the lack of time and experience their party elites had in the run-up to the 2014 elections. We therefore expect the Europarties to further professionalize their selection procedures and start the process earlier with more high profile politicians to stand as candidates in 2019.

Candidate Selection Methods, Cooperation and Legislative Effectiveness

“…Parties adopt a specific method for choosing candidates for a variety of reasons: 1) it is required by law, 2) they want to increase their votes, 3) it is part of the party's ideology and 4) the size of the party (Hazan & Rahat 2010;Put et al 2016). …”

United in diversity? Europarties and their individual members’ rights

“…However, it is worth noting that the EGP held open primaries in the run-up to the 2014 European elections, which gave individual supporters the opportunity to vote for two candidates for the European Commission presidency (the so-called Spitzenkandidaten). Yet, as the primaries were open, they can be seen as the EGP's attempt to be more inclusive and reach out to all citizens rather than its registered supporters and members (Put et al 2016).…”

Evaluations of the Spitzenkandidaten: The Role of Information and News Exposure in Citizens’ Preference Formation

“…News coverage during EP election campaigns has become more comprehensive in recent years (Boomgaarden & De Vreese, 2016;De Vreese, Banducci, Semetko, & Boomgaarden, 2006;Schuck, Xezonakis, Elenbaas, Banducci, & De Vreese, 2011) and the EP as well as individual members (MEPs) receive regular broadsheet coverage during non-election times (Gattermann, 2013;Gattermann & Vasilopoulou, 2015). Furthermore, research on the personalization of politics suggests that individual politicians (e.g., Langer, 2007;Rahat & Sheafer, 2007) and leaders in particular (e.g., Boumans, Boomgaarden, & Vliegenthart, 2013) receive increasingly more news attention at the ex- Put, Van Hecke, Cunningham, & Wolfs, 2016). pense of political parties and institutions.…”