Career politicians a dozen years after regionalisation of the Czech Republic (2000–13)

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study compares three groups of full-time politicians in the Czech Republic. Two of these – MPs and mayors – came into existence in the early 1990s immediately after the fall of the communist regime, and the third, here referred to as county full-time politicians, appeared only at the turn of the millennium. To investigate their profiles and careers, a database was created from a wide range of sources, such as election results, county council meeting reports, county and personal websites, media databases and similar. Analysis of the database showed that establishing a second tier of local government (counties) opened up career opportunities primarily for members of the main political parties who had ambitions to become full-time politicians but did not want to disengage from the local network on which their political capital often rested. Like other politicians, those in the counties are predominantly middle-aged men with higher education. Furthermore, the party selectorates prefer candidates with experience in other elected positions. However, the ‘professional’ political career frequently starts at the county level. So far, the most typical have been county politicians who hold paid positions for one or two election terms. Transitions from or to other levels of government are often discrete. With the exception of the entry of municipal professionals into county politics, these transitions involve a small circle of people. The most visible part of county politicians is formed of the county presidents and those related with national politics. Moreover, these people often serve as the regional officials of political parties and play an important role in the recruitment of parliamentary politicians. Therefore, the effect of the newly established regional political elite on party politics should be examined in more depth. It is argued that the ‘invisible majority’ of full-time county politicians deserves scientific interest too, because it can have a major influence on shaping the policies and specific features of each region.