Investigating candidate selection strategies: the case of 2009 European Parliament elections

This chapter contributes to literature on strategies of candidate selection and uses the data generated by the PIREDEU project to increase our knowledge on the candidate selection process in the EP. In particular, consistently with the research design and objectives of the literature mentioned above, three broad areas are touched upon. First, we give evidence of the degree of inclusiveness/exclusiveness, and of centralization/decentralization in EP parties’ strategies. Next, wel advance a few, preliminary, explanatory variables to explain the determinants of candidate selection. Finally, we focus on the consequences of different selection mechanisms on the qualities and voting behaviours of 2009 EP elections candidates.