-
Original Article
A new political elite in Western Europe?The political careers of
regional prime ministersin newly decentralised countries
Joan Botellaa, Juan Rodrguez Teruelb,*, Oscar Barbera`c
andAstrid BarriocaUniverstat Auto`noma de Barcelona, Edifici B.
Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Valle`s), 08193, Spain.
E-mail: [email protected] School of Economics and
Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK.
E-mails: [email protected];
[email protected] Poltica i de lAdministracio,
Universtat de Vale`ncia, Avinguda dels Tarongers, Vale`ncia,
46071, Spain.
E-mails: [email protected]; [email protected]
*Corresponding author.
Abstract This article aims to observe the effects of
decentralisation on thepolitical careers of the regional elite in
Spain, France and the United Kingdom. Weaddress the main career
pathways of these elites, and we test whether the type
ofdecentralisation and the duration of decentralisation make a
difference to theircareers. The results show different career
pathways, and outline the eventualemergence of a new cursus honorum
in which local and national career paths aredissociating.
Institutional structure and time make a difference. In France,
regionalpresidents tend to follow a traditional career path,
whereas in Spain we find newterritorial careers. The consolidation
of regional institutions seems to favour thedifferentiation of
political careers.French Politics (2010) 8, 4261.
doi:10.1057/fp.2009.40
Keywords: political elites; multi-level system; regions; prime
ministers; politicalcareers; Western Europe
Introduction
Different political decentralisation processes have taken place
in recent decadesin Western Europe (Harvie, 1994; Keating, 1998;
Caciagli, 2003). This has ledto a growing academic interest in
areas in which the impact of the creation ofmultilevel political
systems has been most relevant. New political institutionshave
arisen as a result of regional decentralisation, the empowerment of
local
r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics Vol.
8, 1, 4261www.palgrave-journals.com/fp/
-
governments, and the creation of the European Union. Although
subnationalentities are still quite different among European
countries, in general theappearance of new regional institutions
has been associated with an increase interritorial autonomy. The
consequences of this transformation have affectedboth the general
process of governance (Marks, 1993; Marks et al, 1996;Brzinski and
Lancaster, 1999; John, 2001; Denters and Rose, 2005) and theactors
involved, particularly parties and party systems (De Winter and
Tursan,1998; Deschower, 2003, 2006; Hopkin, 2003; De Winter et al,
2006; Swendenand Maddens, 2009). Research on political elites has
not been left outside thescope of this trend. This is especially
true for parliamentary elites: socialrecruitment and its impact on
generating consensus and continuity in regionalpolitics, as well as
circulation between political arenas (Coller, 1999, 2002,2008;
Stolz, 2003, 2005). Conversely, the study of regional executive
leaders hasreceived very little attention. With the exception of
some prior exploratoryworks (Lopez Nieto, 2003; Bidegaray, 2004),
the comparative analysis of themembers of regional cabinets still
remains a little-studied field. This gap is evenmore surprising as
it involves a key position in the new regional scenario.According
to the literature on parliamentary elites, the central question
thatshould be addressed in this case is that of what effects
decentralisation has hadon the circulation and the cursus honorum
of regional cabinet elites. While thisquestion is beyond the
capacity of our data, our article does try to advanceour
understanding of this new regional political elite in Western
Europe.We will analyse the political careers of regional1 prime
ministers in Spain(19802009), France (19862009) and the United
Kingdom (19992009), inorder to determine their impact on the new
regional political arena.
Decentralisation and Political Elites
We can define the relationship between decentralisation and
political elites asa relationship of mutual influence. On the one
hand, the existence or creationof a new political level influences
the selection and circulation of elites. And onthe other, the
characteristics of the political elite (values, attitudes
andbackground) affect the creation, institutionalisation and
evolution of the newinstitutions (Westlake, 1994; Deschouwer, 2001;
Verzichelli and Edinger, 2005;Coller et al, 2007, p. 5). This
article addresses the first relationship.With regard to the
decentralisation effects on regional MPs, Stolz has
distinguished between social distinctiveness relating to the
phenomena ofprofessionalisation and the creation of a new social
group of regionalpoliticians and territorial distinctiveness
relating to differences betweenregional and national politicians
(Stolz, 2001a, p. 84, 2003, 2005). In the lattercase, the influence
of elites on the evolution of decentralisation can be decisive,
A new political elite in Western Europe
43r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
for regional politicians may become a key actor in increased
claims for regionalself-government or, conversely, an agent of
territorial integration within thestate (Stolz, 2001a, pp.
9192).Stolzs concept of territorial distinctiveness refers back to
a more general
debate on the effects that multilevel political systems have on
the integration ofnational political elites and national parties.
In this sense, the United Statesand Canada appear as two opposite
and paradigmatic examples of integration/bifurcation dynamics in
decentralised political systems (Moncrief, 1994;Scarrow, 1997, p.
254). In the United States, incentives favouring ascendingcareers
through different levels (multilayered careers) have fostered
theintegration of the political elite (Schlesinger, 1958, 1966;
Polsby, 1968;Ruchelman, 1970; Shin and Jackson, 1979; Sabato, 1983;
Pound, 1992;Francis and Kenny, 2000). A similar pathway seems to
derive from the politicalcareers followed by members of parliament
and the Ministerprasident in theGerman Lander (Schneider, 2001;
Stolz, 2003). Conversely, Canadianfederalism has tended to weaken
the integration of party organisationsat different levels, and has
also created differentiated political careers, despitethe fact that
regional elites have undergone a professionalisation
phenomenonparallel to what has occurred in the state legislatures
of the United States(Chandler and Chandler, 1987; Barrie and
Gibbins, 1989; Carty, 1991;Moncrief and Thompson, 1992; Moncrief,
1994, 1998).The observations of regional prime ministers2 (RPMs)
are a good way of
determining the effects of the creation of multilevel systems,
although analysisof this subject has been neglected up to now.3 Of
course, some of the problemsrelating to parliamentary elites (like
professionalisation) cannot be automati-cally transferred to
regional cabinet elites. In recently decentralised countries,RPMs
head institutions that have met the conditions for high
professionalisa-tion since their creation. However, it is relevant
to what extent RPMs are fullyintegrated into the national political
elite, or whether, conversely, they havebecome a distinctive
political elite.The analysis of the political careers offers a good
strategy for detecting
the integration or bifurcation of regional and national
political elites. Politicalcareers allow us to observe the
relationship that is established among politicallevels, as well as
their level of commitment to regional institutions. Indeed,these
are the questions that have also been studied in relation to the
poli-tical careers of Members of European Parliment (MEPs) (Cotta,
1984, p. 126;Scarrow, 1997, p. 254; Stolz, 2003, p. 225).The
regional prime ministership has become one of the top positions in
the
political hierarchy. They lead a cabinet, run an administration
with a publicbudget and personify the territorial representation of
the region. They are alsocloser to citizens than national leaders
and are therefore better placed toexercise influence over their
demands (Coller et al, 2008, p. 114). All these
Botella et al
44 r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
resources may become incentives to focus the ambition of
national politicianstowards these posts, which would probably make
it difficult for outsidersor politicians solely with experience in
local politics to reach the post of RPM.From the perspective of
political careers, this may lead to two differentsituations. On the
one hand, RPMs may come mainly from national insti-tutions. If so,
we can expect to find RPMs with important political experiencein
national parliaments and executives. On the other hand, the
creation of newregional institutions may be used (as suggested by
the thesis on territorialdistinctiveness) by a new regional or
local elite to turn it into a base of power.In sum, our first and
main hypothesis aims to test whether the new regionalleaders
arising from decentralisation have a cursus honorum with
local-regionalpredominance (as a reflection of the territorial
distinctiveness produced bydecentralisation). Depending on the
extent to which regional leaders comefrom the centre of the system,
we can draw conclusions about the extent towhich the new regional
governments have become attractive for the nationalpolitical elite.
This could lead to an integration of regional and nationalpolitics.
Conversely, the emergence of models of territorial careers, which
donot need to pass through the centre, could be an indication of
the segregationor bifurcation of the regional political elite.There
may also be variation over time. Our second hypothesis states that
the
progressive consolidation of regional institutions may lead to
specific careerpatterns and encourage the differentiation of the
regional elite. Althoughdecentralisation processes initially tend
to be controlled and promoted bynational political elites, the
institutionalisation of regional self-governmentsmay foster an
increasing differentiation of regional leaders with
predominantlylocal-regional careers. If this happens, it is likely
that models of regionalpolitical careers will gain momentum, to the
detriment of national careermodels.
Methodology
We analyse the RPMs in three Western European countries that
haveundergone a process of decentralisation since the 1970s, and
deal with thepolitical careers of the heads of regional governments
in France, Spain andthe United Kingdom. The empirical analysis
includes two types of variables:first, several variables related to
the background of individuals in differentpolitical arenas, and
second, the variable types of political careers, whichreconstructs
the individuals cursus honorum as a sole indicator, through
theaggregation of the different arenas, ordered sequentially.Our
analysis will include the 164 heads of government4 of the 45
regions
of France, Spain and the United Kingdom.5 Since the beginning of
the
A new political elite in Western Europe
45r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
decentralisation processes, regional heads of government have
increasedsubstantially. In Spain, 73 presidentes autonomicos have
been elected betweenthe 1980 and 2009 elections (for a total of 124
legislative terms). In France,between the elections of 1986 and
2009, the number has grown to 83 presidentsof conseils regionaux
(for 103 legislative terms). In contrast, the relatively
smallgeographic size and relatively short time in which devolution
has been in forcemean that only six first ministers in Scotland and
Wales were elected between1999 and 2009.France, Spain and the
United Kingdom were unitary states that experienced,
in the past 30 years, a process of decentralisation, without
achieving a federalmodel and with great differences among them.
Decentralisation has led to thecreation of regional levels with
their own representative institutions. In all ofthem there is an
elected assembly that nominates a head of the regionalgovernment on
the basis of a parliamentary majority for a legislative period(4
years in Spain and the United Kingdom and 6 years in France).
However,there are substantial differences among these three
countries. First, there existsan enormous disparity in the temporal
dimension of regional institutions. If wetake the first regional
elections as a starting point, Spain initiated its trajectoryalmost
30 years ago, whereas the United Kingdom has barely accumulated10
years. Second, the degree of decentralisation is diverse in each
case. Whilein France all of the regions initially enjoyed limited
competencies and lackedlegislative autonomy, in English and Spanish
regions the competencies weremuch greater. In Spain, some
communities had many more initial competenciesthan others, but
their evolution has tended to equalise them. Third, theterritorial
extension of decentralisation is not homogenous. While in Spainand
France all of the national territory has been divided into regions
(moreunequal in geographical size and population in Spain than in
France), in theUnited Kingdom decentralisation has been limited
territorially, leaving outthe most important region (England).
Finally, it is important to notedifferences in other institutional
rules that indirectly determine access toregional leadership, like
the electoral system (proportional for the UnitedKingdom and Spain,
majoritarian since 2004 for France) or the rulesconcerning the
compatibility of political offices (much more restrictive inSpain
than in the United Kingdom or France, where the tradition of cumul
desmandats predominates).
The Political Careers of RPMs
Political careers in each political arena
A general and comparative analysis of countries based on the
RPMstrajectories shows common threads and differences (Table 1).
First, a common
Botella et al
46 r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
Table 1: Regional prime ministers experience in political
arenas
Spain France United
Kingdom
All
Local level
He had a local posty 42.5 90.6 33.3 67.1y but had already left
it 28.8 16.5 33.3 22.6y until becoming PM and then left 13.7 9.4 0
11.0y and kept it after being appointed PM 0 64.7 0 33.5
Mayor 19.2 63.5 0 41.5
Years in local posts (average) 9.5 17.2 8.0 14.9
Years as mayor (average) 11.2 15.2 0 14.3
Supra-municipal levela
Supra-municipal post 33.3 54.1 16.7 49.1
Leader of a supra-municipal executive 20.0 9.4 16.7 11.3
Years in supra-municipal posts (average) 8.4 12.8 12.3
(n) 15 85 6 106
Regional level
Regional post (any) 58.9 54.1 66.7 56.7
Regional MP 50.7 51.8 66.7 51.8
Regional minister 30.1 16.5 50.0 23.8
Years in regional posts 6.6 7.8 1.5 7.0
National parliament
He was an MPy 47.9 56.5 83.3 53.7y but had already left it 16.4
17.6 0 16.5y until becoming PM and then left 26.0 4.7 0 14.0y and
kept it after being appointed PM 5.5 34.1 83.3 23.2
Low chamber 13.7 12.9 0 12.8
Upper chamber 35.6 48.2 83.3 43.9
Years as MP (average) 4.6 12.7 16.0 9.7
National executive
He had an office in national executivey 12.3 31.8 50.0 23.8y but
had already left it 8.2 28.2 16.7 18.9y until becoming PM and then
left 4.1 0 33.3 3.0y and kept it after being appointed PM 0 3.5 0
1.8
Head of State or Prime Minister 0 3.7 0 1.8
Cabinet Minister 6.8 28.2 33.3 12.2
Junior Minister and other executive posts 5.5 12.9 16.7 9.8
Years in executive posts (average) 4.7 4.8 2.0 4.5
European union
MEP 1.4 7.1 0 4.3
Years as MEP (average) 2.0 4.2 3.9
(n) 73 85 6 164
aSupra-municipal offices included here are Conseil General
(France), Cabildos and Diputacion
General (Spain, in Canary islands and Basque Country) and
Regional Councils in the United
Kingdom.
Source: Authors elaboration from official sources.
A new political elite in Western Europe
47r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
pattern appears in careers in the three countries, with slight
variations (between54.4 per cent in France and 66.7 per cent in the
United Kingdom). Previousregional experience constitutes a very
relevant credential in the subsequentascension to regional
leadership.6 It is logical that the parliamentary nature ofthe
regional executive exercises a strong bias in favour of prior
parliamentaryexperience on the part of the main leader.
Nevertheless, there are many headsof government that did not
previously pass through the regional assembly (fourof every 10
individuals). Additionally, their previous experience in
regionalinstitutions, as members of parliament or counsellors, is
very short at just7 years. This limits the general scope of the
hypothesis on distinctiveness, atleast that which is generated by
strictly regional careers, and suggests thegreater importance of
local and national trajectories.Previous regional experience is
similar in Spain and France. In the British
case, the low number of regional first ministers in the United
Kingdom to dateallows for two possible tendencies: either they will
follow the national Britishtradition, in which case the head of
government requires a previous solidparliamentary career in the
national political arena, or else they will imitatewhat is observed
in Spain or France.Second, experience in local institutions appears
as a credential of prime
importance, whether in town councils or in supra-municipal
entities (the conseilgeneral in France and the island and county
entities found in some Spanishcommunities). Not only do these have
more weight than regional mandates,but they have also developed
over a considerably longer period of time. It isalso important to
highlight the significant presence of mayors among the headsof
regional governments. Here, we can detect strong links between the
regionalleadership and local political formation that characterises
territorial notables(Bidegaray, 2004).The weight of national
experience shows important differences among
countries. While in France the local experience of regional
leaders is very high(nine out of 10 individuals held a municipal
office and half passed throughthe conseils generaux), it is less in
the case of Spain (only four of 10) and almostzero in the United
Kingdom. The French cursus honorum makes it nearlya requirement to
have dedicated more than 15 years to local institutions(frequently
city hall) in order to attain regional leadership later on.A
significant number of mayors remain in office while
simultaneouslyexercising the office of president of regional
councils. Many others, forcedby the restrictions on the cumul des
mandats, resign as mayor but retain adjunctpositions as advisors to
the mayor during the period of their regionalpresidency. These
facts demonstrate the extent to which the creation of regionsin
France has not been able to prevent the dominance of local elites,
to thedetriment of the creation of a truly new regional elite
(Bidegaray, 2004).Additionally, two of every three French regional
presidents have maintained
Botella et al
48 r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
the mayoral post concurrently, although when forced to choose
between thetwo because of the restrictions on the cumul des mandats
they have preferredto resign from local office in favour of
regional leadership.7 Finally, in thepolitical careers of French
leaders, local experience is also acquired with a postto the
conseil general, although rarely as president of that
institution.Third, the trajectory via the national arena,
principally the parliament, also
appears as a relevant credential. Half of the heads of
government were nationalparliamentarians and one in four had a post
in the government. Parliamentaryresponsibilities are primarily
found in the lower house (the Congress ofDeputies, the National
Assembly and the House of Commons). On the otherhand, national
office occupies less time in their careers than local posts.
Thismight indicate a lesser weight for this arena, but it probably
means theopposite: the national arena allows for an accumulation of
political capitalsufficient to reach regional leadership in less
time than in the local arena.There are also notable differences
across the countries with regard to
experience in national institutions, varying between the
predominance oftrajectories via the national arena in the Scottish
and Welsh cases (83.3 percent) and a lesser significance of these
in the French (60 per cent) and Spanishcases (49.3 per cent).
Accordingly, experience in the House of Commons iscommon among
Scottish and Welsh prime ministers. In contrast, this type
ofcredential is not as common in French and Spanish individuals.
Additionally,the national parliamentary term is maintained in all
instances in the UnitedKingdom, in half the cases in France and in
almost no cases in Spain, whereindividuals tend to resign from
their national seat when they are elected asautonomous community
presidents.8 This lesser experience is also reflected inthe
duration of the parliamentary post: Spanish presidents spend barely
4 yearson average in the national parliament, whereas the French
presidents triple thatnumber, and the British quadruple it.There
are notable differences among countries in experience of members
of
national government. Only one in 10 Spanish autonomous
presidents were inthe government,9 while half of the first
ministers of Scotland and Wales wereministers or held other high
posts in Whitehall. In addition, many of theseBritish ministers
were involved in ministries linked to the devolution, shortlyafter
which they passed into the leadership at new regional institutions.
Moretime will have to pass in order to determine whether what is
significant in thetrajectory of the British first ministers is
having been a minister (in which casethis route will be
maintained), or having been linked to the initial process
ofdevolution (in which case the ministerial route could gradually
diminish).Finally, it is worth noting the insignificance of
European credentials in the
cursus honorum of regional leaders. This is consonant with the
pattern ofemerging European careers, namely, as a final destination
for a set group ofnational politicians, and less and less a
specific career path (Scarrow, 1997;
A new political elite in Western Europe
49r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
Stolz, 2001b). In this sense, the French case is unique in that
there is a(minority) presence of regional presidents that have
passed through theEuropean Parliament. Nevertheless, rules limiting
the cumul des mandats nowalso limit access to the European
Parliament with concurrent regional termsof office. In subsequent
years this has limited the extension of this credentialamong French
regional leaders.
Top-down or bottom-up political careers?
The previous point demonstrates that regional elites do not
present patternsof simple and homogeneous careers. We are not
seeing political outsiders, butpoliticians with a wide range of
political experiences, in many cases in differentarenas of the
political system. To be able to support our first hypothesis,
wemust look at the sequence of trajectories via career
patterns.Arranging political experiences into a single indicator is
not easy for
individuals who have followed highly varied careers. We find
three broadmodels (one-level, two-level and multilevel), which are
subdivided into eightsecondary models, according to the level that
has prevailed in the career overtime (see Table 2). If individuals
from these elites come from the centre and areintegrated into the
national elite, career patterns with a national predominancewill be
detected. Conversely, if we find elites with distinctive or
bifurcated
Table 2: Definition of political careers types
Type of career Number of
political levelsaOffices included
National one-level One Only national posts (MP or executive)
Regional one-level One Only regional posts
Local one-level One Only local posts (local or
supra-municipal)
National two-level Two Started always at national level
(parliament
or executive) and extended through
regional level
Local two-level Two Started always at local level and
extended
through regional level
Multilevel with national
predominance
Three Started at national level, generally in
national posts
Multilevel with local
predominance
Three Started at local level, generally in local
posts
Regional Predominance Two or three Generally in regional
posts
aWe distinguish three levels: local (municipal and
supra-municipal arenas), regional and national
(parliamentarian and executive arenas). Because of the
insignificant weight of European posts in
political careers, they are not included in this typology).
Source: Authors own data from official sources.
Botella et al
50 r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
traits, the presidents will have had careers with local or
regional predominance.The data are set forth in Table 3.In France,
67 per cent of regional presidents start their political careers
in
local institutions and then move through two, three or even four
levels duringtheir political careers.10 After this path,
individuals become regional presidents,holding a local post
simultaneously with a regional or national post. Amongthe main
political career models, a large majority have careers with
localpredominance (67.1 per cent). Compared to this figure, careers
with nationalpredominance have less weight (20 per cent), although
almost all of them are
Table 3: The political career of regional prime ministers: start
and itinerary
Spain France United Kingdom All
First post
Municipal 42.5 58.8 33.3 50.6
Supra-municipal 0 8.2 0 4.3
Regional 21.9 5.9 0 12.8
MP 24.7 16.5 66.7 22.0
National executive 4.1 4.7 0 4.3
No posts 6.8 5.9 0 6.1
Last post before regional PM
Municipal 8.2 24.7 0 16.5
Supra-municipal 1.4 10.6 0 6.1
Regional 50.7 29.4 50.0 39.6
MP 24.7 16.5 16.7 18.3
National executive 6.8 11.8 33.3 12.2
MEP 1.4 1.2 0 1.2
No posts 6.8 5.9 0 6.1
Number of political arenas
One arena 46.6 8.2 0 25.0
Two arenas 23.3 23.5 66.7 25.0
Tree arenas 19.2 30.6 16.7 25.0
Four arenas 4.1 20.0 0 12.2
Five or six arenas 0 11.8 16.7 6.7
Type of political careers
National one-level 17.8 0 0 7.9
Regional one-level 20.5 1.2 0 9.8
Local one-level 8.2 4.7 0 6.1
National two-level 11.0 1.2 66.7 7.9
Local two-level 16.4 27.1 16.7 22.0
Multilevel with national predominance 5.5 18.8 16.7 12.8
Multilevel with local predominance 11.0 35.3 0 23.2
Regional predominance 2.7 5.9 0 4.3
Without political background 6.8 5.9 0 6.1
(n) 73 85 6 164
Source: Authors own data from official sources.
A new political elite in Western Europe
51r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
multilevel. Conversely, there are hardly any examples of careers
that arespecifically or predominantly regional (7.1 per
cent).Despite the important political paths of regional presidents
and the
predominance of local experience, we cannot determine a clear
trend towardsdifferentiation or bifurcation. The majority of
careers with local predominanceis multilevel (35.3 per cent), which
means that they have also moved throughthe national level, while
there are less that are two-level (27.1 per cent), whichare the
most genuinely territorial in that they have not passed through
thecentre, except in a couple cases. Only 40 per cent of presidents
have not heldnational posts, of which the majority are politicians
with political careerscarved out in municipalities and departments.
Consequently, the majority ofFrench regional presidents maintain a
pattern of mandate accumulation,similar to the rest of the French
political elite, despite attempts by the legislatorto establish
limits on accumulation with the aim of favouring
regionallyorientated careers (Knapp, 1991). Everything points to
the fact that the powerof regional leaders continues to be linked
to their positions in other arenas ofFrench politics (Nay, 1997, p.
185).In the case of the United Kingdom, individuals have a type of
political career
that is concentrated in the Parliament of Westminster and the
corridors ofWhitehall. The political careers of the first ministers
of Wales and Scotlandhave been channelled through parliament.
Almost all of them started theircareers as national
parliamentarians, and then moved on to holding posts asministers or
high executive posts. Later they come to power as representativesin
regional parliaments and were later nominated as first ministers.11
As aresult, thus far the careers of the few cases share an
identical pattern, with smalland circumstantial
differences.Compared to France and the United Kingdom, Spanish
presidents exhibit
the clearest traits of political specialisation in regional
entities, although theyalso have high degrees of diversity in their
previous political careers. First, fourof every 10 autonomous
community presidents started their careers at themunicipal level
(42.5 per cent), whereas the rest secured their first post at
anational level (28.8 per cent) or at a regional level (21.9 per
cent). The majorityonly passed through one level, although one in
four were at three levels ormore. Half accessed the autonomous
community presidency from a regionalpost, although one of every
four came from a national post. Faced with thisscenario, it is not
unreasonable to conclude that there is not a common patternthat
leads to an autonomous community presidency in Spain. Moreover,
thereare careers that are totally or predominantly local (35.6 per
cent), a proportionof them also moving through national parliament.
Second, there are careerswith national predominance (34.3 per cent)
that almost never go through alocal level. Nonetheless, the great
difference between Spanish regions and thoseof France and Britain
is the existence of careers carried out exclusively or
Botella et al
52 r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
predominantly in the parliament and regional governments (23.2
per cent).This supports the existence of distinctive and bifurcated
political careersamong the regional governmental elite.The degree
of statistical correlation among the different arenas confirms
the
solidity of some of the relationships among arenas (Table 4).
First, a negativerelationship appears between regional experience
and the national parliamen-tary arena, which indicates that a
proportion of those who move throughregional posts tend not to pass
through the national parliament. It also showsthe relationship
between the two local arenas on the one hand and between thetwo
national arenas on the other. Thus, those who pass through
supra-municipal entities (conseil general in France, municipal
councils in the CanaryIslands, general council in the Basque
Country) also tend to move through themunicipalities. Second, those
who have held posts in the national governmenttend to have also
held posts in the national parliament (which points towardsthe
hypothesis that many of them have top-down careers). Finally, those
whohold supra-municipal posts tend to move through national posts,
which makesthe traditional French cursus honorum model clear
whereby a proportion of thepolitical elite start their career paths
in conseils generaux.Overall, there are noteworthy differences in
political careers depending on
the country, owing to the different structure of opportunities.
The careers ofBritish leaders follow the national two-level
pattern, which has allowed nationalpoliticians to be recruited to
the front lines of the new regional governments. InFrance, on the
other hand, presidents have followed the traditional pattern ofthe
accumulation of municipal and national posts, to which leadership
inregional governments has been added. Finally, in Spain
presidencies aredistributed among those who have followed bottom-up
careers with local
Table 4: Correlation among experiences in different arenas
France Spain United Kingdom All
Municipal supra-municipal 0.188 0.472 0.632 0.282**
Regional municipal 0.188 0.154 0.500 0.109
Regional supra-municipal 0.185 0.000 0.316 0.163Regional
parliament 0.142 0.257* 0.316 0.195*Regional executive 0.031
0.307** 0.707 0.061Parliament municipal 0.205 0.048 0.632
0.039Parliament supra-municipal 0.287** 0.289 0.200 0.299**
Parliament executive 0.446** 0.307** 0.447 0.404**
Executive municipal 0.133 0.015 0.000 0.124
Executive supra-municipal 0.223* 0.447 0.236*
*Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (two-tailed).
**Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (two-tailed).
A new political elite in Western Europe
53r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
predominance, those who have developed top-down careers with
nationalpredominance and those who have focused primarily on
regional entities. Thegreater number of these ones makes a
difference with respect to France and theUnited Kingdom.These data
suggest that the greater the decentralisation, combined with a
broader structure of opportunities, the greater the territorial
distinctivenessof regional political leaders up to a certain point.
Following our firsthypothesis, this differentiation arises from
careers that are exclusively regionalor local-regional, in which
regional leaders separate from the traditionalchannels that take
place in the national arena. Nonetheless, if this relationshipwere
correct, we also would have to note the positive evolution of
thesedifferentiated careers as regional levels are
institutionalised.
Differences among careers over time?
Our second hypothesis asked whether regional and local careers
increase overtime as regional institutions are established. Data in
Table 5 provide someanswer to this. In the case of Spain, national
political careers were moreimportant during the early years of
decentralisation than the later years.Without reaching equal
ranking, the image of the first regional Spanishpresidents is
similar to the trajectories of British first ministers and
Frenchpresidents. Of course, the context of democratisation meant
that early on therewas a lack of alternatives for the political
elite. Conversely, the characteristicsof the presidents elected in
the last term of office already have verydifferentiated traits with
respect to their predecessors. The majority ofautonomous community
presidents in 2007 have passed through town councilsand autonomous
entities, while a difference is revealed between those whohave held
national posts and those who have not. The evolution of
experiencein the different levels of Spanish presidents can be seen
more clearly throughthe movement in terms of office (Figure 1).
Regional experience becomesa basic requirement for accessing the
frontlines of the government, in parallelto municipal experience.
Conversely, the number of presidents who havebeen in the national
parliament has constantly decreased over time. Bycontrast, the
presence of ex-minister presidents has not stopped
growing,especially in the most recent terms of office. This
suggests a progressiveincrease in the political value of autonomous
community presidencies. As apolitical career pattern is shaped that
is typical of an autonomous communitypresident, only national
leaders who have been in the government findthemselves in a
position to compete for election to autonomous
communitygovernments, whereas the national parliamentarians no
longer follow thisroute.
Botella et al
54 r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
The French case apparently shows a similar evolution. However,
the increaseaffects all levels equally, unlike in Spain. French
presidents elected since 2004have in all cases held a municipal
post in the past and have been, in almostall cases, mayors. Both in
Spain and in France, the institutionalisation ofregional
governments has entailed an increase in the number of areas
throughwhich their heads of government move. However, this has a
different meaningin each individual case. In France,
decentralisation has simply contributed toexpanding the number of
levels through which the national elite pass, while inSpain it has
contributed to the emergence of political careers with
regionalpredominance.The longitudinal vision of the careers of
Spanish and French presidents blurs
some differences among countries, but makes others emerge. While
in France itseems to be the case that the evolution of RPMs
contributes to integrating theregional level into the pool of
available posts, in Spain two phenomena can be
Table 5: Differences among political careers depending on
legislative terms
First plus second terms Last term
All Spain France UK All Spain France
Posts
Municipal 60.0 28.1 84.8 40.0 81.6 57.1 100
Alcalde 33.7 6.2 56.5 0 61.2 38.1 78.6
Supra-municipal 54.4 33.3 60.9 20.0 53.1 50.0 53.6
Regional 34.9 34.4 32.6 60.0 75.5 71.4 78.6
MP 59.0 59.4 56.5 80.0 55.1 42.9 64.3
National executive 22.9 6.2 30.4 60.0 36.7 28.6 42.9
Number of political arenas
One arena 28.9 56.2 13.0 0 16.3 38.1 0
Two arenas 21.7 21.9 15.2 80.0 24.5 23.8 25.0
Three arenas 21.7 6.2 34.8 0 30.6 33.3 28.6
Four arenas 9.6 3.1 15.2 0 16.3 4.8 25.0
Five or six arenas 7.2 0 10.9 20.0 12.2 0 21.5
Type of political careers
National one-level 14.5 37.5 0 0 0 0 0
Regional one-level 3.6 9.4 0 0 10.2 23.8 0
Local one-level 8.4 9.4 8.7 0 6.1 14.3 0
National two-level 8.4 12.5 0 60.0 8.2 14.3 3.6
Local two-level 19.3 9.4 26.1 0 22.4 19.0 25.0
Multilevel with national predominance 16.9 6.2 23.9 20.0 14.3
9.5 17.9
Multilevel with local predominance 18.1 3.1 30.4 20.0 34.7 14.3
50.0
Regional predominance 0 0 0 0 4.1 4.8 3.6
Without political background 10.8 12.5 10.9 0 0 0 0
(n) 83 32 46 5 49 21 28
Source: Authors own data from official sources.
A new political elite in Western Europe
55r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
distinguished more clearly. On the one hand, there is the
appearance ofindividuals who become RPMs from territorial careers
(local and/or regional).On the other, there is an increase in
national leaders who have passedthrough the central government and
decided to transfer to autonomouspolitics. In both cases, the
institutionalisation of autonomous communitiesseems to have
generated its own and specific value for regional leadership.We do
not have sufficient longitudinal data to include the British case.
But thedifferent evolutions of the French and Spanish cases open a
question about theevolution of regional British leaders as time
goes on.
Conclusions
The recent decentralisation of some countries in Western Europe
opens up aresearch agenda about the effects that this
decentralisation has on the politicalelite and whether it fosters
the bifurcation of political careers for the newregional political
elite. This hypothesis, which has been stated in the study
ofregional parliamentarians, can be applied to RPMs. The appearance
of newregional leaders should be able to be empirically detected
through politicalcareers with regional predominance or with a
local-regional pattern. None-theless, the profiles of political
careers are highly dependent on the structure of
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
LocalRegionalParliamentExecutive
I II III IV V VI VII
Figure 1: Spanish RPMs background in political arenas.
Source: Authors own data.
Botella et al
56 r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
opportunities in each political system (electoral system,
compatibility rules andso on), as well as on the degree of
consolidation of regional institutions. Asa result, we should also
expect differences in career patterns among countriesand over
time.The data collected on heads of regional government in Spain,
France and the
United Kingdom partly corroborate both hypotheses, but also
introduce someunexpected results. Thus, the majority of RPMs have
had political careers inmany different political arenas. The
diversity of these routes makes it difficultto measure possible
differences with respect to the national political elite.
Thepolitical value that the region has acquired has raised the
price of the cursushonorum necessary to reach a position of
leadership there, and the individualswho do attain it are
professional politicians with long careers. However, thereis some
evidence that points towards the appearance of a typical trajectory
ofsuch leaders. The growing importance of previous experience in
thegovernment or parliament of the region seems to parallel the
reduction inexperience in national parliamentary posts. At the same
time, local entitiesare seen as arenas that are conducive to the
political careers of future regionalpresidents. As a consequence,
the local/regional pattern seems to bestrengthened over time, so
that regional institutionalisation favours politicalcareers that
are increasingly more focused on the territory and less dependenton
the centre.Nonetheless, this general panorama is highly conditioned
by the structure of
opportunities and the political decentralisation model of each
country. In thecase of the United Kingdom, the political weakness
of local government andthe role of Westminster as a recruitment
centre for political elites are clearlyreflected in the political
careers of Scottish and Welsh first ministers. However,the
development of devolved entities may strengthen the territorial
profile of itsleaders and encourage them to follow the evolution of
Spanish regionalpresidents. Both countries have in common the
political attractiveness of a highregional decentralisation. Thus,
in Spain a growing distinctiveness is seen inthe political careers
of autonomous community presidents who come from thenational arena
and those who have not held posts there. Conversely, in Francethe
long political trajectories of regional presidents does not seem to
make anydifference, but rather contributes to the cumul des mandats
in French politics.This tradition still makes a difference in a
regional context. However, Frenchregional presidencies seem to
increasingly be a destination point and not just anintermediate
transit point. This could end up introducing changes in the valueof
regions in the cursus honorum of the French elite.These initial
conclusions spotlight future questions that we must bear in
mind. On the one hand, it is advisable to expand the field of
comparison withother countries with similar levels of
decentralisation to some of those includedin this study (Belgium,
Italy). On the other , we should expand the observation
A new political elite in Western Europe
57r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
of the heads of regional governments subsequent political
careers, analysingthe routes that they have taken after leaving the
government, that is, wherethey come from and where they go
afterwards. Both procedures let us check theconclusions of our
first hypothesis, in order to see how far possibledifferentiation
extends to other decentralised systems and whether differentia-tion
necessarily means the bifurcation and separation of elites in
differentarenas. Finally, it would also be advisable to use more
qualitative data suchas interviews with political leaders, in order
to verify, given the problem ofgreater longitudinal perspectives,
whether the creation of specific regionalpatterns of political
careers affects the political attitudes of the regionalleaders.
Acknowledgements
This research has been funded by the Project
SEJ2006-15076-C03-02, fromMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovacion; the
Project SEJ-4032, from Junta deAndaluca; and the Institut de
Cie`ncies Poltiques i Socials, from Barcelona.Juan Rodrguez Teruel
is Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economicsand Political
Science and at The Open University with a grant funded by
theBeatriu de Pinos Program of the Generalitat de Catalunya. A
previous versionof this article was presented at the World Congress
of Political Science inSantiago de Chile (July 2009), and at the
ECPR General Conference inPotsdam (September 2009). The authors
appreciate the comments receivedthere, and the suggestions made by
Regis Dandoy during the research process,as well as those made by
the two anonymous reviewers.
Notes
1 We use the term regional following the common usage employed
in studies on decentralisation
in Europe. However, we are aware that regional may have a
negative connotation for some
supporters of the decentralized institutions, who claim a
national identity for these ones. In
this study, we make reference to regional or subnational
entities as the new level between
local and state, distinguishing them from other national or
central institutions corresponding
to a state level.
2 We use the term regional prime minister for every country,
although this terminology is
controversial in France and Spain, where these posts are called
presidents. However, they are
heads of regional executives selected by the regional parliament
and not directly elected by the
voters. Therefore, we consider that the term regional prime
minister is less misleading from a
comparative point of view.
3 In federal systems, heads of subnational government have not
received systematic and
comparative analysis either. Among the most relevant studies,
meriting mention are works
devoted to the governors in the United States (Sabato, 1978;
Beyle, 2004) and to the German
Ministerprasident (Schneider, 2001). Although the political
careers of the Canadian premiers
Botella et al
58 r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
have not been studied as a whole, there are works on their
influence on the provincial
governments of Canada in progress (Pal and Taras, 1988; Dunn,
1996; Bernier et al, 2005).
4 In this study, we consider only those heads of regional
governments who have been appointed
by an assembly directly elected by citizens. Therefore, we have
excluded individuals who held
interim posts or those who came to office by indirectly elected
assemblies at the beginning of a
period of autonomy (such in France until 1986 or in Spain until
the first autonomous region
elections).
5 Owing to the special features of government evolution in
Northern Ireland, we have not
included it in this study.
6 By prior regional experience, we mean experience as a regional
parliamentarian or minister in a
previous term of office in the case of coming into government
power at the beginning of a term,
or experience from the beginning of the present term of office
for those who come into power at
mid-term. At the time of appointment, all regional heads of
government studied are in turn
members of the parliamentary assembly, given that in most
regions analysed this is an
indispensable requirement to be able to obtain parliaments
trust.
7 Four regional French presidents resigned from their mayorship
to be able to access regional
posts. Some of them had obtained mayorship only a few years
earlier (Claude Gewerc, Jean-Luc
Harusseau and Pierre Joel Bonte had been in office for barely 3
years). In contrast, Georges
Freche had an extremely long career path of 27 years as mayor of
Montpellier.
8 Unlike the United Kingdom and France, the post of regional
minister in Spain is incompatible
with being a national MP. Conversely, the regional post is
compatible with holding a seat in the
Senate, and therefore many Spanish regional ministers enter
lower chambers as representatives
of regional parliaments.
9 Five Spanish RPMs were ministers before attaining regional
posts: M. Chaves, J.A. Grinan.
J. Montilla, E. Aguirre and M. Fraga, who was a minister in
Francos government and who
later was leader of the Alianza Popular during the first 10
years of democracy. J. Matas was a
minister between his first and second terms in office as RPM of
the Balearic Islands.
10 Adrien Zeller, president of the Alsace Regional Council since
1997, symbolises the culmination
of a multilevel career, having moved through all the political
arenas analysed after starting his
political career in 1973. Before obtaining regional presidency,
Zeller had been mayor of
Saverne, general councillor of Bas-Rhin, regional councillor of
Alsace, deputy in the National
Assembly, Secretary of State of Social Security and MEP.
11 The only exception to this model was Jack McConnell, whose
career began as a local councillor
in Stirling. In 1992 he became the General Secretary of the
Scottish Labour Party. In the late
1990s, he was a member of the Scottish Constitutional
Convention. After being minister of the
new Scottish executive for 2 years, he became first minister in
2001.
References
Barrie, D. and Gibbins, R. (1989) Parliamentary careers in the
Canadian federal state. Canadian
Journal of Political Science 22(1): 137145.
Bernier, L., Brownsey, K. and Howlett, M. (2005) Executives
Styles in Canada. Cabinet Structures
and Leadership Practices in Canadian Government. Toronto,
Canada: University of Toronto
Press.
Beyle, T.L. (2004) The governors. In: V. Gray, R.L. Hanson and
H. Jacob (eds.) Politics in the
American States. Washington DC: CQ Press.
Bidegaray, C. (2004) Quels Presidents pour les Regions? Les
effets pervers des modes de scrutiny.
Revue Francaise de Science Politique 54(4): 595620.
A new political elite in Western Europe
59r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
Brzinski, J., Lancaster, T.D. and Tuschhoff, C. (eds.) (1999)
Compounded Representation in
Western European Federations. London: Frank Cass.
Caciagli, M. (2003) Regioni dEuropa: devoluzioni, regionalismi,
integrazione europea. Firenze, Italy:
Il Mulino.
Carty, R.K. (1991) Three Canadian party systems: An
interpretation of the development of
national politics. In: H.G. Thorburn (ed.) Party Politics in
Canada, 6th edn. Scarborough,
Ontario: Prentice-Hall.
Chandler, W.M. and Chandler, M.A. (1987) Federalism and
political parties. European Journal of
Political Economy 3(12): 87106.
Coller, X. (1999) Circulacion y conflicto en la elite poltica:
el caso valenciano. Revista Valenciana
de Estudios Autonomicos 29: 193221.
Coller, X. (2002) Continuidad y conflicto parlamentario en las
comunidades autonomas espanolas.
In: J. Subirats y R. Gallego (eds.) Veinte anos de autonomas en
Espana. Leyes, polticaspublicas, instituciones y opinion publica.
Madrid, Spain: Centro de Investigaciones Sociologicas,
pp. 6997.
Coller, X. (2008) El sesgo social de las elites polticas. El
caso de la Espana de las autonomas
(19802005). Revista de Estudios Polticos 141: 133157.Coller, X.,
Ferreira, H. and Meissner, C. (2007) Political Elites in
Federalized Countries: The Case
of Spain (19802005). Washington DC: Center for European Studies.
Working Paper.
Coller, X., Ferreira, H. and Meissner, C. (2008) Les elites
politiques regionales espagnoles
(19802005). In: W. Genieys, M.-S. Darviche y G. Hermet (eds.)
Penser la dynamique des
regimes politiques. Sur les pas de Juan Linz. Paris: LHarmattan,
pp. 113140.
Cotta, M. (1984) Direct elections of the European parliament: A
supranational political elite in the
making. In: K. Reif (ed.) European Elections 1979/81 and 1984:
Conclusions and Perspectives
from Empirical Research. Berlin, Germany: Quorum, pp.
122126.
De Winter, L. and Tursan, H. (eds.) (1998) Regionalist Parties
in Western Europe. London:
Routledge.
De Winter, L., Gomez-Reino, M. and Lynch, P. (2006) Autonomist
Parties in Europe: Identity
Politics and the Revival of the Territorial Cleavage. Barcelona,
Spain: Institut de Cie`ncies
Poltiques i Sociologia.
Denters, S.A.H. and Rose, L.E. (2005) Comparing Local
Governance: Trends and Developments.
Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Deschouwer, K. (2001) Multilevel systems and political careers:
The pleasure of getting lost.
ponencia presentada en el 29th Joint Session of Workshops ECPR,
April, Grenoble.
Deschouwer, K. (2003) Political parties in multi-layered
systems. European Urban and Regional
Studies 10: 213226.
Deschouwer, K. (2006) Political parties as multi-level
organizations. In: R. Katz and W. Crotty
(eds.) Handbook of Party Politics. London: SAGE.
Dunn, C. (1996) Premiers and cabinets. In: C. Dunn (ed.)
Provinces. Canadian Provincial Politics.
Peterborough: Broadview Press.
Francis, W.L. and Kenny, L.W. (2000) Up the Political Ladder.
Career Paths in US Politics.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Harvie, C. (1994) The Rise of Regional Europe. London:
Routledge.
Hopkin, J. (2003) Political decentralization, electoral change
and party organizational adaptation:
A framework for analysis. European Urban and Regional Studies
10: 227237.
John, P. (2001) Local Governance in Western Europe. London:
SAGE.
Keating, M. (1998) The New Regionalism in Western Europe:
Territorial Restructuring and Political
Change. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Knapp, A. (1991) The Cumul des mandats, local power and
political parties in France. Western
European Politics 14(1): 1840.
Botella et al
60 r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261
-
Lopez Nieto, L. (2003) Los sistemas representativos de las CCAA.
Balance, tipos y capacidad de
innovacion (19801999). Una realidad poltica eclipsada.
Barcelona: Institut de Cie`ncies
Poltiques de Barcelona. Working Paper.
Marks, G. (1993) Structural policy and multilevel governance in
the EC. In: A.W. Cafruny and
G.G. Rosenthal (eds.) The State of the European Community: Vol.
2: The Maastricht Debate and
Beyond. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, pp. 391410.
Marks, G., Hooge, L. and Blank, K. (1996) European integration
from the 1980s: State-centric v
multilevel governance. Journal of Common Market Studies 34:
341373.
Moncrief, G.F. (1994) Professionalization and careerism in
Canadian provincial assemblies:
Comparison to US state legislatures. Legislative Studies
Quarterly 19(1): 3348.
Moncrief, G.F. (1998) Terminating the provincial career:
Retirement and electoral defeat in
Canadian provincial legislatures, 19601997. Canadian Journal of
Political Science 31(2): 359372.
Moncrief, G.F. and Thompson, J.A. (eds.) (1992) Changing
Patterns in State Legislative Careers.
Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Nay, O. (1997) La region, une institution. La representation, le
pouvoir et la re`gle dans lespace
regional. Paris: LHarmattan.
Pal, L.A. and Taras, D. (1988) Prime Ministers and Premiers.
Political Leadership in Public Policy
in Canada. Scarborough: Prentice Hall.
Polsby, N.W. (1968) The institutionalization of the US house of
representatives. American Political
Science Review 62: 144168.
Pound, W. (1992) State legislative careers: Twenty-five years of
reform. In: G. Moncrief and
J.A. Thompson (eds.) Changing Patterns in State Legislative
Careers. Ann Arbor, MI:
University of Michigan Press.
Ruchelman, L. (1970) Political Careers. Recruitment Through the
Legislature. Rutherford: Fairleigh
Dickinson University Press.
Sabato, L. (1978) Goodbye to Good-time Charlie: The American
Governor Transformed. Washington
DC: CQ Press.
Scarrow, S.E. (1997) Political career paths and the European
parliament. Legislative Studies
Quarterly 22(2): 253263.
Schlesinger, J.A. (1958) How they Became Governor. A Study of
Comparative State Politics,
18701950. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press.
Schlesinger, J.A. (1966) Ambition and Politics: Political
Careers in the United States. Chicago: Rand
McNally & co.
Schneider, H. (2001)Ministerprasidenten Profil eines politischen
Amtes im deutschen Foderalismus.
Opladen, Germany: Leske+Budrich.
Shin, K.S. and Jackson III, J.S. (1979) Membership turnover in
US state legislatures: 19311976.
Legislative Studies Quarterly 4: 95114.
Stolz, K. (2001a) The political class and regional
institution-building: A conceptual framework.
Regional & Federal Studies 11(1): 80100.
Stolz, K. (2001b) Parliamentary careers in Europe, between the
regional, national and supranational
level. ponencia presentada en el 26th Joint Session of Workshops
ECPR, Grenoble.
Stolz, K. (2003) Moving up, moving down: Political careers
across territorial levels. European
Journal of Political Research 42.
Stolz, K. (2005) Bringing politicians back in regional democracy
and political careers. Paper
presented at the 30th Joint Session of Workshops ECPR,
Granada.
Swenden, W. andMaddens, B. (2009) Territorial Party Politics in
Western Europe. London: Palgrave.
Verzichelli, L. and Edinger, M. (2005) A critical juncture? The
2004 European elections and the
making of a supranational elite. The Journal of Legislative
Studies 11(2): 254274.
Westlake, M. (1994) Britains Emerging Euro-Elite? The British in
the Directly Elected European
Parliament, 19791992. Aldershot, UK: Dartmouth.
A new political elite in Western Europe
61r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics
Vol. 8, 1, 4261