The role of parliamentary committee chairs in coalition governments: office and policy theses reconsidered

ABSTRACT

Though it is not disputed that the chairs of parliamentary committees in many European countries have substantial power and influence over the work of the legislature, they have been unduly neglected by existing research. Current scholarship on committee chair allocation between the party groups and the roles they perform in coalition cabinets is not sufficient and offers competing explanations which are backed by incomplete evidence. This article aims to provide a step towards a more comprehensive understanding of committee chair allocation and the roles they perform in coalition cabinets. Analysing the data from the Baltic states it explores the influence of two factors parliamentary party group size and its ideological position. It demonstrates that both factors play an important role in committee chair allocation process. It also shows that the size of a party group influences committee chair roles: committee chairs from bigger parties are more likely to be matched up with a minister from a same party, while committee chairs from the junior coalition partners are more likely to be used for oversight.

KEYWORDS:

• Committee chairs
• mega-seats
• Baltic states
• coalition governments

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Lukas Pukelis is a PhD candidate in the University of Tartu, Institute of Government and Politics (RTI). His research interests include coalition cabinets, political developments in the Baltic States and legislative studies.