Towards the 2017 French election: Socialist and Republican nominees from the selection to the presidential election

In France, primaries have become an important part of French party system. Recently, the process, used by different parties, has been opened also to sympathisers. Indeed, both the Socialist Party and the Republicans organised primaries in the 2017 presidential elections. This can be analysed as an expected step to address problems such as leadership and representativeness. In addition, this process is also in line with the personalisation that has become a characteristic of the Fifth Republic. However, after the collapse of the main parties in the last elections, the primary system seems to have entered in a crisis time. For this reason, this article will attempt to analyse the introduction of primaries in France with a particular attention on the last presidential election focusing on the similarities, differences, and effects in these two open selections

The French Socialist Party: Membership between Closed and Open Primaries

For some years now the clamor for democratisation of parties' internal functioning has been spreading across democracies. Among them, France has advanced impressively in the past few years. In 2006, the Socialist Party (PS) launched a closed primary to choose the socialist candidate, Ségolène Royal, for the 2007 presidential election. Approaching the 2012 presidential elections, the leftist coalition (PS and PRG) launched open primary elections to select its chief-executive candidates, with François Hollande finally emerging as a nominee. In this article, we shall examine how the socialist membership changed during the past three socialist congresses, analysing the outcome of the two above-mentioned primary elections. In particular, we shall observe the Le Mans (2005), Reims (2008) and Toulouse (2012) Congresses, and describe membership, participation, and competitiveness within the PS. The study was based on data collected from an administrative unit, the French départements

The French Socialist Party: Membership between Closed and Open Primaries

For some years now the clamor for democratisation of parties' internal functioning has been spreading across democracies. Among them, France has advanced impressively in the past few years. In 2006, the Socialist Party (PS) launched a closed primary to choose the socialist candidate, Ségolène Royal, for the 2007 presidential election. Approaching the 2012 presidential elections, the leftist coalition (PS and PRG) launched open primary elections to select its chief-executive candidates, with François Hollande finally emerging as a nominee. In this article, we shall examine how the socialist membership changed during the past three socialist congresses, analysing the outcome of the two above-mentioned primary elections. In particular, we shall observe the Le Mans (2005), Reims (2008) and Toulouse (2012) Congresses, and describe membership, participation, and competitiveness within the PS. The study was based on data collected from an administrative unit, the French départements

The French Socialist Party: membership between closed and open primaries

For some years now the clamor for democratisation of parties' internal functioning has been spreading across democracies. Among them, France has advanced impressively in the past few years. In 2006, the Socialist Party (PS) launched a closed primary to choose the socialist candidate, Ségolène Royal, for the 2007 presidential election. Approaching the 2012 presidential elections, the leftist coalition (PS and PRG) launched open primary elections to select its chief-executive candidates, with François Hollande finally emerging as a nominee. In this article, we shall examine how the socialist membership changed during the past three socialist congresses, analysing the outcome of the two above-mentioned primary elections. In particular, we shall observe the Le Mans (2005), Reims (2008) and Toulouse (2012) Congresses, and describe membership, participation, and competitiveness within the PS. The study was based on data collected from an administrative unit, the French départements

The new Draghi government and the fate of populism in Italy

In 2018, Italy appeared set to embark on a new era of populist government led by the Five Star Movement and the League. Yet less than three years since the 2018 election, the country now finds itself with a technocratic Prime Minister in the shape of Mario Draghi. Marino De Luca writes on what this turn of events tells us about the fate of populism in Italian politics

The army of candidates: aspiring councillors during Italy’s municipal elections

Municipal elections were held in Italy on 3-4 October, with a further ballot being held in 65 municipalities on 17-18 October. Marino De Luca assesses what lessons can be learned from participation rates in the elections

The Italian style: Giuseppe Conte’s ‘half-populist’ leadership during Covid-19

From the starting position of a political outsider, Italy’s PM Giuseppe Conte has carved a widely positive image for himself, gaining widespread popularity during the Covid-19 crisis. Marino De Luca argues that Conte’s savvy use of communication channels during a time of national emergency, combined with his personality, have helped him project an image of political competence, empathy, and reassurance

Inside the secret garden of political parties. Transformations and reactions to primary elections in Italy and France

Primary elections are becoming quite spread within no-US political context. Many political parties in different countries choose to adopt such inclusive methods to select their candidates for general elections. Thus, primary elections have been re-adapted to different political systems, in order to fit with different party’s specific features. This implied a re-definition of the very concept of primary both in terms of procedures and in terms of political meaning. This paper aims to understand the promotion of party primaries in two EU countries: Italy and France. The two countries have implemented open primaries adopting the maximum level of inclusiveness. This paper will focus on the public debate about these two case studies in order to clarify which were the meaning and the political value of the primary contests in 2011 (France) and 2012 (Italy)

Methods for analysing citizens' attitudes: a hypothetical Italian referendum about the membership of the European Union as a case study

The European Union is an unprecedented unification project that successfully preserves political peace and integrates Europe's countries into a supra-national model. However, recent economic and political crises have shown that there are institutional problems that have undermined the EU and lost the trust of many citizens. In Italy after the 'political earthquake' of the 2013 national elections, the party system suffered a further shock in 2018 with the consolidation of the centre-right and Five Star Movement as the main competing political actors. In this context, the relationship with the EU has undergone numerous tensions, impacting directly on Italian public opinion and its perception of European institutions. This paper investigates whether and how the 'exit' issue from the EU affects Italian citizens, particularly how they react to a UK-style hypothetical referendum on leaving the EU. By analysing a 2019 voter study, it tries to identify clusters of Italian citizens by their attitude to European policies and a possible EU referendum

Towards the 2017 French election

Primaries have become an important aspect of the French party system. In recent times, the process, used by different parties, has been opened up to coopérateurs ('sympathisers'). Both the Socialist Party and the Republicans held primaries in the 2017 presidential elections. This can be seen as an expected step towards addressing problems such as leadership and representativeness. This process is also in line with the personalisation that has become a feature of the Fifth Republic. Following the collapse of the main parties during the last elections, the primary system seems to have entered a period of crisis. This article will hence analyse the introduction of primaries in France, with particular attention to the 2017 presidential election. Our focus is on the similarities and differences between these two open selection processes and their respective effects