The first casting happens at home: role formation in the European parliamentary elections

Abstract

This article illustrates the importance of recruitment procedures for early representational role formation. Using data from elite interviews and socio-demographic characteristics of 34 Romanian candidates in the 2009 European parliamentary elections, our analysis fulfils two goals. Apart from substantiating the relationship between the degree of selection centralization and party-oriented roles, this study tests and validates new causal dimensions. Thus, a strong perception of the selectorates’ inclusiveness discourages the members of the European parliaments to act as party delegates. At the same time, longer party membership seems to have the opposite effect and seems to strengthen party loyalty.

Keywords:

• recruitment
• inclusiveness
• European parliament
• representation roles
• decentralization

Notes

1. A good example is that of Forza Italia that joined the EPP group in June 1998 after three years of membership in the national-conservative Union of Europe.

2. There were 43 candidates for each party.

3. For a comparison, the equivalent completed Romanian sample of the European Parliament Candidate Survey is composed of 28 respondents (including 8 elected MEPs, but no response from the largest party, the PSD).

4. In our analysis we have checked for differences in the answers we got before and after the European elections of 7 June 2009. There is no identifiable difference for any questionnaire item.

5. For example, a central commission established the selection criteria at the PNL and interviewed the applicants, prior to the vote in the national executive council. At the PSD, the candidatures were firstly proposed by the county executive bureaus and then discussed and ordered by the centre. In the PDL, there was an intermediate, regional phase in between the county–national bargaining. Last but not least, the Council of the Alliance’s Representatives (UDMR mini parliament) voted on the list proposed by the permanent council of the party (13 leaders). We have to stress the informal character of these practices as none of the parties regulated the recruitment procedures. For more details, see Gherghina and Chiru (2010).

6. In the subsequent tests, we have included also gender and age. The results for them are neither relevant nor conclusive. Thus, we do not report them.

7. In the entire analysis, the level of significance is quite high, issue quite straightforward, if we consider the small number of cases.