Przywództwo partyjne a porażka wyborcza – interakcje i współzależności

Abstract

PARTY LEADERSHIP AND ELECTORAL DEFEAT – INTERACTIONS AND INTERDEPENDENCIES The aim of the article is to examine the nature of the relationship between electoral defeat and the personal stability of party leadership. The theoretical dimension is complemented by a quantitative analysis conducted in 73 European political parties and a qualitative analysis of the post-election situation in Belgium. The empirical component is based on an expert survey and individual in-depth interviews with parliamentarians and representatives of the leadership of Vlaams Belang (VB), Ecolo, Socialistische partij.anders (Sp.a), Parti Socialiste (PS) and Centre démocrate Humaniste (CdH). The findings show that the mere fact of poor parliamentary election results is not a factor that triggers an accelerated leader replacement, although at the same time it is the most common change in European political parties experiencing electoral defeat. What matters for a party’s response to waning electoral support is the systemic context. The Belgian example shows that the loss of votes and parliamentary seats compensated by the possibility to participate in power at different levels of the state reduces the impact of defeat on the personal stability of the party leadership.