Political parties still play a fundamental gatekeeping role in selecting candidates and, consequently, in selecting parliamentary and governmental elites. Nonetheless, the effective room for maneuver of party leaders in candidate selection has not received much attention. This is an interesting area to investigate, also considering recent accounts of intra-party personalization of politics, where party leaders have allegedly become more central. By using a novel dataset on approximately 75 Western European parties and some 250 party leaders between the mid-1980s and the mid-2010s, this article analyzes party leaders’ autonomy in selecting candidates for general elections. It tests the effect of party leaders’ determinants (e.g., leadership tenure or leaders' gender) and party determinants (i.e., party membership). Both leader-related and party-related determinants have a significant impact. The results show that political parties can still act as a counterbalancing force vis-à-vis party leaders and call for further investigation into intra-party informal practices.
Abou-ChadiTOrlowskiM (2016) Moderate as necessary: the role of electoral competitiveness and party size in explaining parties’ policy shifts. The Journal of Politics78(3): 868–881.
2.
AlexiadouDO’MalleyE (2022) The leadership dilemma: examining the impact of strong leaders on parties. European Journal of Political Research61(3): 783–806.
3.
AylottNBolinN (2021) Managing Leader Selection in European Political Parties. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
4.
AylottNBolinN (2024) The reality of representation in Europe: the mode of leader selection in political parties. Political Research Exchange6(1): 2353718.
5.
BalmasMRahatGSheaferT, et al. (2014) Two routes to personalized politics: centralized and decentralized personalization. Party Politics20(1): 37–51.
6.
BarneaSRahatG (2007) Reforming candidate selection methods: a three-level approach. Party Politics13(3): 375–394.
7.
BennisterMHartPWorthyB (2015) Assessing the authority of political office-holders: the leadership capital index. West European Politics38(3): 417–440.
8.
BergmanTMüllerWCStrømK, et al. (2003) Democratic delegation and accountability: cross-national patterns. In: StrømKMüllerWCBergmanT (eds) Delegation and Accountability in Parliamentary Democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 109–220.
9.
BermúdezSCorderoG (2017) Who is recruiting our crew? Contextual determinants of MPS’ selection. Acta Politica52(3): 265–285.
10.
BilleL (2001) Democratizing a democratic procedure: myth or reality?Party Politics7(3): 363–380.
11.
BlondelJThiébaultJ-L (2010) Political Leadership, Parties and Citizens. Abingdon: Routledge.
12.
BryanMLJenkinsSP (2016) Multilevel modelling of country effects: a cautionary tale. European Sociological Review32(1): 3–22.
13.
CaliseM (2015) The personal party: an analytical framework. Italian Political Science Review/Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica45(3): 301–315.
14.
CameronACTrivediPK (2009) Microeconometrics Using Stata. College Station: Stata Press.
15.
CarrollRCoxGW (2007) The logic of Gamson’s law: pre-election coalitions and portfolio allocations. American Journal of Political Science51(2): 300–313.
16.
CarterN (2023) Green parties. In: CarterNKeithDSindreG, et al. (eds) The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties. London: Routledge, 184–196.
17.
CeronA (2016) Inter-factional conflicts and government formation: do party leaders sort out ideological heterogeneity?Party Politics22(6): 797–808.
18.
CerrutoMFacelloCRanioloF (2016) How has the secret garden of politics changed in Italy (1994-2015)?American Behavioral Scientist60(7): 869–888.
19.
ChiruM (2025) Clientelism, party organization and intra-party democracy. Comparative Political Studies58(4): 680–713.
20.
ChiruMGaujaAGherghinaS, et al. (2015) Explaining change in party leader selection rules. In: CrossWPPiletJ-B (eds) The Politics of Party Leadership: A Cross-National Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 31–49.
21.
CollerXCorderoGJaime-CastilloAM (eds) (2018) The Selection of Politicians in Times of Crisis. Abingdon: Routledge.
22.
CorderoGCollerX (2015) Cohesion and candidate selection in parliamentary groups. Parliamentary Affairs68(3): 592–615.
23.
CorderoGCollerX (eds) (2018a) Democratizing Candidate Selection. New York: Springer.
24.
CorderoGCollerX (2018b) Lights and shadows of democratizing candidate selection. In: CorderoGCollerX (eds) Democratizing Candidate Selection. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 3–24.
25.
CorderoGJaime-CastilloAMCollerX (2016) Candidate selection in a multilevel state: the case of Spain. American Behavioral Scientist60(7): 853–868.
26.
CorderoGÖhbergPCollerX, et al. (2018) Candidate selection and party discipline in Europe: a comparative perspective. In: CorderoGCollerX (eds) Democratizing Candidate Selection. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 255–272.
27.
Costa LoboM (2018) Personality goes a long way. Government and Opposition53(1): 159–179.
28.
CrossWPKatzRS (eds) (2013) The Challenges of Intra-party Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
29.
CrossWPPiletJ-B (eds) (2015) The Politics of Party Leadership: A Cross-National Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
30.
CrossWPKatzRSPruysersS (eds) (2018) The Personalization of Democratic Politics and the Challenge for Political Parties. London and New York: Rowman and Littlefield International/ECPR Press.
31.
DaltonRJFarrellDMMcAllisterI (2011) Political Parties and Democratic Linkage: How Parties Organize Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
32.
DaltonRJWattenbergMP (eds) (2000) Parties Without Partisans: Political Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
33.
DetterbeckK (2016) Candidate selection in Germany: local and regional party elites still in control?American Behavioral Scientist60(7): 837–852.
34.
DowdingK (2006) Three-dimensional power: a discussion of Steven Lukes’ ‘Power: a radical view’. Political Studies Review4(2): 136–145.
35.
DowdingK (2013) Prime-ministerial power. Institutional and personal factors. In: StragioP‘t HartPWalterJ (eds) Understanding Prime-Ministerial Performance: Comparative Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 57–78.
36.
Ennser-JedenastikLMüllerWC (2015) Intra-party democracy, political performance and the survival of party leaders: austria, 1945-2011. Party Politics21(6): 930–943.
37.
Ennser-JedenastikLSchumacherG (2015) Why some leaders die hard (and others don’t). In: CrossWPPiletJ-B (eds) The Politics of Party Leadership: A Cross- National Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 107–127.
38.
Ennser-JedenastikLSchumacherG (2021) What parties want from their leaders: how office achievement trumps electoral performance as a driver of party leader survival. European Journal of Political Research60(1): 114–130.
39.
FernandesJMGeeseLSchwemmerC (2018) The impact of candidate selection rules and electoral vulnerability on legislative behaviour in comparative perspective. European Journal of Political Research58(1): 270–291.
40.
FrantzEKendall-TaylorALiJ, et al. (2022) Personalist ruling parties in democracies. Democratization29(5): 918–938.
41.
GallagherMMarshM (eds) (1988) Candidate Selection in Comparative Perspective: The Secret Garden of Politics. London: Sage.
42.
GaujaA (2015) The construction of party membership. European Journal of Political Research54(2): 232–248.
43.
GaujaA (2016) Party Reform: The Causes, Challenges, and Consequences of Organizational Change. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
44.
GaujaAKosiara-PedersenK (2021) Decline, adaptation and relevance: political parties and their researchers in the twentieth century. European Political Science20(1): 123–138.
45.
GolderSN (2006) Pre-electoral coalition formation in parliamentary democracies. British Journal of Political Science36(2): 193–212.
46.
GouglasAMaddensBBransM (2018) Determinants of legislative turnover in Western Europe 1945-2015. European Journal of Political Research57(3): 637–661.
47.
GruberOCrossWPPruysersS, et al. (2015) The end of the affair. In: CrossWPPiletJ-B (eds) The Politics of Party Leadership. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 128–148.
48.
HarmelRJandaK (1994) An integrated theory of party goals and party change. Journal of Theoretical Politics6(3): 259–287.
49.
HazanRYRahatG (2010) Democracy Within Parties. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
50.
HelmkeGLevitskyS (2004) Informal institutions and comparative politics: a research agenda. Perspectives on Politics2(4): 725–740.
51.
HelmsL (2016) The politics of leadership capital in compound democracies: inferences from the German case. European Political Science Review8(2): 285–310.
52.
IbenskasRBolleyerN (2018) Forms of inter-party cooperation. Electoral coalitions and party mergers. East European Politics & Societies: And Cultures32(3): 451–572.
53.
IgnaziPFiorelliC (2022) The end of cornucopia: party financing after the great recession. Government and Opposition57(2): 193–216.
54.
JandaK (1980) Political Parties: A Cross-National Survey. New York: Free Press.
55.
JohanssonKMTallbergJ (2010) Explaining chief executive empowerment: EU summitry and domestic institutional change. West European Politics33(2): 208–236.
56.
KarvonenL (2010) The Personalisation of Politics. Colchester: ECPR Press.
57.
KatzRS (2001) The problem of candidate selection and models of party democracy. Party Politics7(3): 277–296.
58.
KatzRSKolodnyR (1994) Party organization as an empty vessel: parties in American politics. In: KatzRSMairP (eds) How Parties Organize. London: Sage, 23–50.
59.
KatzRSMairP (eds) (1992a) Party Organizations. A Data Handbook on Party Organizations in Western Democracies, 1960–90. London: Sage.
60.
KatzRSMairP (1992b) Introduction. In: KatzRSMairP (eds) Party Organizations. A Data Handbook on Party Organizations in Western Democracies, 1960-90. London: Sage, 1–20.
61.
KatzRSMairP (1995) Changing models of party organization and party democracy: the emergence of the cartel party. Party Politics1(1): 5–28.
62.
KelbelC (2020) ‘I Bend, indeed, but never break’: formal rules and informal processes of candidate selection for European elections. Party Politics26(1): 43–55.
63.
KöllnA-K (2015) The effects of membership decline on party organisations in Europe. European Journal of Political Research54(4): 707–725.
64.
KöllnA-K (2016) Party membership in Europe: testing party-level explanations of decline. Party Politics22(4): 465–477.
65.
KopeckýPMairP (2012) Party patronage as an organizational resource. In: KopeckýPMairPSpirovaM (eds) Party Patronage and Party Government in European Democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 3–16.
66.
KostadinovaTLevittB (2014) Toward a theory of personalist parties: concept Formation and theory building. Politics & Policy42(4): 490–512.
67.
LanzoneMERombiS (2018) Selecting candidates online in Europe: a comparison among the cases of M5S, Podemos and European green party. In: CorderoGCollerX (eds) Democratizing Candidate Selection. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 99–121.
68.
LisiM (2024) Conceptualising and measuring leadership autonomy in contemporary party organisations. Political Studies72(1): 398–418.
69.
LisiMFreireABarberàO (2015) Leadership selection methods and party types. In: CrossWPPiletJ-B (eds) The Politics of Party Leadership: A Cross-National Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 12–30.
70.
LoxboK (2013) The fate of intra-party democracy: leadership autonomy and activist influence in the mass party and the cartel party. Party Politics19(4): 537–554.
71.
LundellK (2004) Determinants of candidate selection: the degree of centralization in comparative perspective. Party Politics10(1): 25–47.
72.
MairP (1994) Party organizations: from civil society to the state. In: KatzRSMairP (eds) How Parties Organize. London: Sage, 1–22.
73.
MairP (2013) Ruling the Void. London: Verso.
74.
MarinoB (2021) Party Leaders and Their Selection Rules in Western Europe. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
75.
MarinoBMartocchia DiodatiNVerzichelliL (2021) Candidate selection, personalization of politics, and political careers: insights from Italy (2006–2016). In: SandriGSeddoneA (eds). New Paths for Selecting Political Elites. London and New York: Routledge, 82–105.
76.
MarinoBMartocchia DiodatiNVerzichelliL (2022) The personalization of party politics in Western Europe (1985–2016): evidence from an expert survey. Acta Politica57(3): 571–596.
77.
MarinoBMartocchiaDNVerzichelliL (2023) Dataset – personalization of politics expert survey (PoPES) (1985-2016). Data File Version 1.0.0. DOI: 10.7802/2550.
78.
MariottiC (2011) Berlusconism: some empirical research. Bulletin of Italian Politics3(1): 35–57.
79.
MartinLWStevensonRT (2001) Government formation in parliamentary democracies. American Journal of Political Science45(1): 33–50.
80.
McDonnellDVampaD (2016) The Italian Lega nord. In: HeinischRMazzoleniO (eds) Understanding Populist Party Organisation. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 105–129.
81.
MeijersMJWiesehomeierN (2023) Expert surveys in party research. In: CarterNKeithDSindreG, et al. (eds) The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties. London: Routledge, 466–477.
82.
MeserveSAPalaniSPemsteinD (2018) Measuring candidate selection mechanisms in European elections: comparing formal party rules to candidate survey responses. European Union Politics19(1): 185–202.
83.
MeyerTMWagnerM (2013) Mainstream or niche? vote-seeking incentives and the programmatic strategies of political parties. Comparative Political Studies46(10): 1246–1272.
84.
MüllerWCStrømK (eds) (1999) Policy, Office, or Votes?Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
85.
Müller-RommelFVercesiMBerzJ (2022) Prime Ministers in Europe: Changing Career Experiences and Profiles. Cham: Palgrave.
86.
MusellaF (2015) Personal leaders and party change: italy in comparative perspective. Italian Political Science Review/Rivista Italiana Di Scienza Politica45(3): 227–247.
87.
MusellaF (2018) Political Leaders Beyond Party Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
88.
NorrisPLovenduskiJ (1995) Political Recruitment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
89.
ÖnnudóttirEH (2016) Political parties and styles of representation. Party Politics22(6): 732–745.
90.
O’BrienDZ (2015) Rising to the top: gender, political performance, and party leadership in parliamentary democracies. American Journal of Political Science59(4): 1022–1039.
91.
O’NeillBPruysersSStewartDK (2021) Glass cliffs or partisan pressure? Examining gender and party leader tenures and exits. Political Studies69(2): 257–277.
92.
Pérez-NievasSRama-CaamañoJFernández-EsquerC (2018) New wine in old bottles? The selection of electoral candidates in general elections in Podemos. In: CorderoGCollerX (eds) Democratizing Candidate Selection. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 123–146.
93.
PiletJ-BCrossWP (eds) (2014) The Selection of Political Party Leaders in Contemporary Parliamentary Democracies. Abingdon: Routledge.
94.
PoguntkeTWebbPD (eds) (2005) The Presidentialization of Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
95.
PoguntkeTWebbPD (2018) Presidentialization, personalization and populism: the hollowing out of party government. In: CrossWPKatzRSPruysersS (eds) The Personalization of Democratic Politics and the Challenge for Political Parties. London and New York: Rowman and Littlefield International / ECPR Press, 181–196.
96.
PoguntkeTScarrowSEWebbPD, et al. (2016) Party rules, party resources and the politics of parliamentary democracies: how parties organize in the 21st century. Party Politics22(6): 661–678.
97.
QuinnT (2012) Electing and Ejecting Party Leaders in Britain. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
98.
RahatG (2024) Party types in the age of personalized politics. Perspectives on Politics22(1): 213–228.
99.
RahatGHazanRY (2001) Candidate selection methods - an analytical framework. Party Politics7(3): 297–322.
100.
RahatGKenigO (2018) From Party Politics to Personalized Politics? Party Change and Political Personalization in Democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
101.
ReiserM (2024) The informal rules of candidate selection and their impact on intra-party competition. Party Politics30(1): 85–95.
102.
RihouxB (2016) Green party organizations. In: Van HauteE (ed) Green Parties in Europe. Abingdon: Routledge, 298–314.
103.
Rodrigues SanchesELisiMRazzuoliI, et al. (2018) Intra-party democracy from members’ viewpoint: the case of left-wing parties in Portugal. Acta Politica53(3): 391–408.
104.
RombiSSeddoneA (2017) Rebel rebel. Do primary elections affect legislators’ behaviour? Insights from Italy. Parliamentary Affairs70(3): 569–588.
105.
SandriGSeddoneAVenturinoF (eds) (2015a) Party Primaries in Comparative Perspective. Farnham: Ashgate.
106.
SandriGSeddoneAVenturinoF (2015b) Understanding leadership profile renewal. In: CrossWPPiletJ-B (eds) The Politics of Party Leadership. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 90–106.
107.
ScarrowSEWebbPDPoguntkeT (eds) (2017) Organizing Political Parties. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
108.
ScarrowSEWebbPDPoguntkeT (2022) Intra-party decision-making in contemporary Europe: improving representation or ruling with empty shells?Irish Political Studies37(2): 196–217.
109.
SchumacherGGigerN (2017) Who leads the party? On membership size, selectorates and party oligarchy. Political Studies65(1(suppl)): 162–181.
110.
SchumacherGde VriesCEVisB (2013) Why do parties change position? Party organization and environmental incentives. The Journal of Politics75(2): 464–477.
111.
ShomerY (2014) What affects candidate selection processes? A cross-national examination. Party Politics20(4): 533–546.
112.
ShomerY (2017) The conditional effect of electoral systems and intraparty candidate selection processes on parties’ behavior. Legislative Studies Quarterly42(1): 63–96.
113.
SpiesDCKaiserA (2014) Does the mode of candidate selection affect the representativeness of parties?Party Politics20(4): 576–590.
114.
SteenbergenMRJonesBS (2002) Modeling multilevel data structures. American Journal of Political Science46(1): 218–237.
115.
StegmuellerD (2013) How many countries for multilevel modeling? A comparison of frequentist and Bayesian approaches. American Journal of Political Science57(3): 748–761.
116.
StrømK (1990) A behavioral theory of competitive political parties. American Journal of Political Science34(2): 565–598.
117.
TanAC (1997) Party change and party membership decline - an exploratory analysis. Party Politics3(3): 363–377.
118.
TeorellJ (1999) A deliberative defence of intra-party democracy. Party Politics5(3): 363–382.
119.
TuttnauerO (2024) Candidate selection methods and electoral systems: between collegialism and personalism. In: FriedbergCRahatG (eds) Collegial Democracy Versus Personal Democracy. Abingdon: Routledge, 41–59.
120.
TuttnauerORahatG (2023) Servants of two (or more) masters: accounting for the complexity of intraparty candidate selection methods. Party Politics29(1): 185–192.
121.
TuttnauerORahatG (2025) Institutional personalism and personalised behaviour: electoral systems, candidate selection methods, and politicians’ campaign strategy. Electoral Studies94: 102909.
122.
Van BiezenIKopeckýP (2017) The paradox of party funding: the limited impact of state subsidies on party membership. In: ScarrowSEWebbPDPoguntkeT (eds) Organizing Political Parties. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 84–105.
123.
Van HauteEPaulisESierensV (2018) Assessing party membership figures: the mapp dataset. European Political Science17(3): 366–377.
124.
Von dem BergeBPoguntkeTObertP, et al. (2013) Measuring Intra-party Democracy. Heidelberg: Springer.
125.
WautersBPiletJ-B (2015) Electing women as party leaders. In: CrossWPPiletJ-B (eds) The Politics of Party Leadership. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 73–89.
126.
WautersBPittoorsG (2019) Populist party leaders in Belgium: an analysis of VB AND PVDA-PTB. Polish Political Science Review7(1): 1–23.
127.
WebbPD (2025) The PSAI Peter Mair Memorial Lecture 2024 Ruling the Void, a decade on: reflections on Peter Mair’s legacy. Irish Political Studies40(3): 317–339.
128.
WebbPDPoguntkeT (2005) The presidentialization of politics in democratic societies: evidence, causes, and consequences. In: PoguntkeTWebbPD (eds) The Presidentialization of Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 336–355.
129.
WolkensteinF (2018) Intra-party democracy beyond aggregation. Party Politics24(4): 323–334.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
