A dual summit of power? Career movements and multilevel circulation in the Spanish executive elite

ABSTRACT

Drawing from the literature on political ambition, this article examines whether politicians holding executive offices exhibit similar patterns of movement between different levels of government as parliamentary elites. It also tests the influence of various institutional and political variables typical of federal systems. Focusing on Spain, the study classifies career movements based on the initial position and the direction of advancement, analyzing their variations depending on the availability, accessibility, and attractiveness of the structure of opportunities. The article particularly aims to elucidate why certain regions are more advantaged to provide decision-makers with more opportunities to circulate across political layers. Our sample includes cabinet members (prime ministers and ministers) and regional chief executives in Spanish regions from 1980 to 2021. The findings suggest that the status of regions, the availability of parliamentary seats, and the regional party system, among other factors, contribute to understanding regional variations in opportunities for executive level-hoppers.

KEYWORDS:

• Ambition
• political careers
• federalism
• ministers
• regional executives
• presidents

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the editors of the special issue and the reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Generalitat Valenciana: Research Project CIAICO/2022/164; University of Valencia: [grant no UV–INV_AE–2631662]; NextGenerationEU: Recualifica grant UP2021–44.