Wer ist der ideale Kandidat? Auswahlkriterien bei der Kandidatenaufstellung zum Deutschen Bundestag

Abstract

Before an election takes place, the party members select their parliamentary candidates . Their nomination decisions depend on their vision of an ideal candidate . Based on the IParl survey of party members participating in the candidate selection for the 2017 German Bundestag elections we are able to investigate these preferences . As we see, there is neither a common ideal among all participants, nor are there any distinctly different groups . Differentiating between district and state level these variations are less distinct than between the different parties . We could also show that competitors seem to perceive demands from their electors at least partially different . Presumably those aspirants who are better at anticipating their electors’ complex preferences might have better chances in the intra-party nomination process .

Strategies of the Party Selectorate: The Two-Level Game in District Selections in Germany’s Mixed Member Electoral System

“…Selection criteria are those characteristics of prospective candidates which are seen as appropriate by the party selectorates in the process of candidate selection (Hazan and Rahat 2010). While these criteria vary, for instance, between political systems, electoral systems (Norris, 1997), parties (e.g., Reiser, 2014b;Cordes and Hellmann, 2020), and selection methods (e.g., Weßels, 1997;Schindler, 2020), research has also revealed certain commonalities. Several studies show that the most important criteria in electoral districts are incumbency, long-term party service, experience in local offices, qualifications, and localness of the aspirants (e.g., Herzog, 1975;Klingemann and Wessels, 2001;Siavelis, 2002;Crisp et al, 2013;Ohmura et al, 2018;Berz and Jankowski, 2022).…”

Loyal Activists? Party Socialization and Dissenting Voting Behavior in Parliament

“…Building on Andeweg and Thomassen (2011), it seems that most of the socialization work is done at lower levels of the party structure. In fact, dedication to the party on the ground—from hanging posters and helping out at party events to holding local party offices—is essential for getting nominated on the party's ticket, which, from the party's perspective, assures recruiting loyal individuals for parliament (Cordes and Hellmann 2020). Conceptually, the rare existing studies on party loyalty have approximated socialization with the length of party membership (Gherghina and Chiru 2014; Rehmert 2022a).…”