‘From the Few are Chosen the Few...’ On the Social Background of European Mayors

Abstract

Even a quick look at the comparative literature on the social background and characteristics of local political elites undermines the ‘fata morgana’ of a ‘descriptive’ representation’ in which public bodies are socio-demographic samples of the society they represent (Pitkin 1967). Despite differences over time and between political systems the disproportional recruitment of certain social groups with distinctive characteristics into the (local) political elite is one of the most replicated and perpetuated findings. Furthermore, at the local level political decision-makers are predominantly male, middle aged, high in professional status and well-educated (Eldersveld et al. 1995: 31–55). This leads us to conclude that the political recruitment process, by which ‘from the many are chosen the few’ (Prewitt 1969: 169–188), does not operate in a random manner. Since local leadership selection is conceived as a process by which “individuals are screened by political institutions for elective office” (Jacob 1962: 708) a dynamic interaction of supply and demand side factors becomes apparent in which social background characteristics interfere at different stages. The political capital and motivations of aspirant office-holders intermingle with the demands of gatekeepers in the political system. The ‘structure of opportunities’ of the latter thus biases the nature of the recruitment function (Norris 1997: 209–231).KeywordsSocial BackgroundLocal RootPopulous MunicipalityLeadership SelectionMayoral PopulationThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.