Selecting party leaders

Abstract

This article revisits the foundations of previous research on the selection of party leaders. The authors argue that leader selection in party congresses entails two dimensions: fragmentation, or the number of candidates running for leadership, and dissent, or dissatisfaction with the winning candidate. Using original data from 435 regional party congresses of the two main national parties in Germany and Spain, the analysis shows that both the number of contenders and the support received by the winner depend on the party’s experience in government, but only the latter is (positively) affected by the party’s electoral performance. Additionally, upon examining the consequences of intraparty division, it is found that a party’s electoral performance is negatively impacted by the existence of several candidates fighting for leadership, while the support received by the leader in the party congress crucially influences their chances of becoming the top candidate in the next regional election.