Abstract
The July 2019 national elections in Greece marked the return in power of the conservative party of ND, one of the two pillars of the traditional Greek bipartisanism. Turnover in these elections nearly reached 40%; more than two thirds of the current Parliament MPs were first elected during the crisis, since old parliamentarians slowly give away their seats to newcomers. The aim of this paper is twofold: 1) explore candidate selection mechanisms of old and new parties in Greece inquiring what -if any- has changed in these mechanisms after the Great Recession and whether they adopt IPD in a wider extent; and 2) investigate the sociodemographic profile of newcomers vis-à-vis older Parliamentarians in order to check if the outcome of the elections has changed in terms of a more socially diverse profile. Given that the issue of candidate selection (and election) is mostly based on unwritten rules, our findings will rely on written party rules (such as party manifestos), on original sociodemographic data and on personal interviews. We tentatively suggest that not much has changed in the candidate selection mechanisms in Greece. ND made limited use of its open registry of candidates, whilst SYRIZA applied the same rules as in previous elections. We conclude that, the crisis in Greece offered the opportunity structures for the mass renewal of its parliamentary elite and for a somewhat more socially diverse pool of successful candidates, but its effect quickly disappeared since new MPs resemble more independent political entrepreneurs and have less social and political ties.
Highlights
Trust in political parties is declining steadily across Europe for the past 2 decades, whilst latest figures reveal an even bleaker picture (Standard Eurobarometer, 2021)
More than a decade has passed since Greece signed the first MoU in 2010, initiating a long cycle of protest, with the electoral collapse of old actors and the rise of new ones
Citizen’s cynicism and distrust towards politicians prevailed with symptoms such as lower turnout in elections and the vote for parties with a clear aversion for democratic politics
Summary
Trust in political parties is declining steadily across Europe for the past 2 decades, whilst latest figures reveal an even bleaker picture (Standard Eurobarometer, 2021). In contrast to ND, since SYRIZA was expecting to reduce its share of seats, the committee had a rather “easy” task: position most incumbent MPs in the ballots, include candidates that originated from its former or new allies and ty to secure election for several prominent figures that had served in government during the previous period as non-elected members of the cabinet These criteria did not leave much room for maneuver and certainly did not need much scouting for new faces: “the formation of the ballot papers was a rather easy process, there was not much participation from non-party members, because they understood that they would take someone else’s place, [. Newcomer MPs are more politically experienced (especially from SYRIZA) and at the same time have less ties with the party and with civil society whilst have served less in local government Social groups such as women and younger people are still underrepresented, whilst the professional and educational capital of MPs remains high. The results are mixed, successful candidates resemble more and more “independent” political entrepreneurs with a personal political capital that is not coming from the mass organizations of the past (parties, trade unions) or rely on their professional political experience that makes them suitable for the job
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