Vol. 86 No. 1 (2023): The 2022 Italian general election
Articles

Career models in the new tripolar order. political profiles of the italian MPs after the 2022 general elections

PDF
  • Matteo Boldrini,
  • Selena Grimaldi
Matteo Boldrini
Department of Political Science, Luiss Guido Carli
Selena Grimaldi
Department of Political Science, Communication and International Relations, University of Macerata
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/qoe-14368

Published 2023-06-29

Keywords

  • Political Careers,
  • Political Professionalization,
  • Parliamentarians,
  • Multi-Level Systems,
  • Gendered Career Models,
  • 2022 Italian General Election
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Boldrini, M., & Grimaldi, S. (2023). Career models in the new tripolar order. political profiles of the italian MPs after the 2022 general elections. Italian Journal of Electoral Studies (IJES), 86(1), 51–65. https://doi.org/10.36253/qoe-14368

Copyright (c) 2023 Matteo Boldrini, Selena Grimaldi

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The 2022 general election confirmed the instability of the Italian political system and in its shift from a bipolar to a tripolar competition dynamic. The article explores similarities and differences among MPs elected in 2022 during such electoral turmoil, aiming to understand their profiles and career paths. Specifically, the research investigates whether certain elements such as gender and affiliation with an organisational thick or thin party may influence the MPs’ career models. We run a multinomial logistic regression to test the effects on multilevel career patterns by relying on an original dataset which comprises the socio-economic and political characteristics of the current MPS and their career trajectories for a total of 588 observations. Our findings show that women are often newcomers, and they are more likely to display an alternative career model. They struggle to fully capitalize on the opportunities offered by multilevel democracy, both before and after attaining their position as MPs. Furthermore, MPs belonging to a party with a strong organisation are more likely to develop unidirectional and integrated models, indicating their ability to navigate the multilevel context with well-planned and structured career paths.

PDF

References

  1. Allen, P. (2018). The political class: Why it matters who our politicians are. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  2. Baldini, G., Tronconi, F., & Angelucci, D. (2023). Yet Another Populist Party? Understanding the Rise of Brothers of Italy. South European Society and Politics, 1-21.
  3. Best, H., & Cotta, M. (Eds.). (2000). Parliamentary representatives in Europe, 1848-2000: legislative recruitment and careers in eleven European countries. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  4. Blondel, J., Thiebault, J-L., Czernika, K., Inoguchi, T., Pathmanad, U., Venturino F., (2010), Political leadership, parties and citizens : the personalisation of leadership, London ; New York : Routledge.
  5. Borchert, J. (2003). Professional politicians: Towards a comparative perspective. The political class in advanced democracies, Oxford: Oxoford University Press
  6. Borchert, J. (2011) Individual Ambition and Institutional Opportunity: A Conceptual Approach to Political Careers in Multi-level Systems, Regional & Federal Studies, 21:2, 117-140, DOI: 10.1080/13597566.2011.529757
  7. Botella, Joan, Rodríguez Teruel, Juan, Barberà, Óscar and Barrio, Astrid. (2010), A New political elite in Western Europe? The political careers of regional prime ministers in newly decentralised countries, French Politics, 8(1), 42–61.
  8. Brown, Ryan, Mansour, Hani, O'Connell, Stephen Reeves, James (2019), Gender Differences in Political Career Progression: Evidence from U.S. Elections, CESifo Working Paper, No. 7821, Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich.
  9. Cairney, P. (2007). The professionalisation of MPs: Refining the ‘politics-facilitating’explanation. Parliamentary Affairs, 60(2), 212-233.
  10. Calise, M. (2015). The personal party: an analytical framework, Italian Political Science Review, 45 (3): 301 – 315
  11. Caprara, Gian & Silvester, Jo. (2018). The Personality Attributes of Political Elites, in Best, H., & Higley, J., (eds.) The Palgrave Handbook of Political elites, Londra: Palgrave Macmillian
  12. Carbone, D., & Farina, F. (2020). Women in the local political system in Italy. A longitudinal perspective. Contemporary Italian Politics, 12(3), 314-328.
  13. Carnes, N. (2016). Why are there so few working-class people in political office? Evidence from state legislatures. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 4(1), 84-109.
  14. Caul, Miki. 1999. “Women’s Representation in Parliament: The Role of Political Parties.”
  15. Party Politics 5 (1): 79– 99.
  16. Chiapponi, F. (2017). Democrazia, populismo e leadership: Il Movimento 5 Stelle. Novi Ligure: Epoké.
  17. Chiaramonte, A., & De Sio, L.(eds.) (2015). Terremoto elettorale. Le elezioni politiche del 2014. Bologna: Il Mulino.
  18. D’Alimonte, R. & Chiaramonte, A.(eds.) (2010). Proporzionale se vi pare. Le elezioni politiche del 2008. Bologna: Il Mulino
  19. Dahlerup, D. (2007). Electoral Gender Quotas, Between Equality of Opportunity and
  20. Equality of Result, Representation, 43 (2): 73–92.
  21. Della Porta D., Joseba F., Kouki H., Mosca, L. (2017), Movement Parties Against Austerity , Wiley (Cambridge: Polity).
  22. De Giorgi, E.Cavalieri A., Feo, F. (2023). From Opposition Leader to Prime Minister: Giorgia Meloni and Women’s Issues in the Italian Radical Right, Politics and Governance, 11 (1): 108–118.
  23. Deschouwer, K. (2006). Political Parties as Multi-Level Organizations. In R. S. Katz & W. J. Crotty (Eds.), Handbook of Party Politics (pp. 291–300). London: Sage.
  24. Di Capua, R., Pilotti, A., Mach, A., & Lasseb, K. (2022). Political professionalization and transformations of political career patterns in multi-level states: The case of Switzerland. Regional & Federal Studies, 32(1), 95-114.
  25. Diamanti, I. (2009). Mappe dell'Italia politica. Bologna: Il Mulino
  26. Dowding, K. & Dumont, P. (2015). Agency Rent, Adverse Selection and Moral Hazard, in K. Dowding & P. Dumont (eds.), The Selection of Ministers around the World. London and New York: Routledge.
  27. Emanuele, V. & Chiaramonte, A. (2022), The Deinstitutionalisation of Western European Party System, London: Palgrave
  28. Emanuele, V. & Marino, N. (2016). Follow the candidates not the parties. Regional & Federal Studies 26(4): 531-554.
  29. Franceschet Susan, Krook, M.L. Piscopo, JM (eds) (2012). The Impact of
  30. Gender Quota. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  31. Gunther, R., & Diamond, L. (2003). Species of Political Parties: A New Typology. Party Politics, 9 (2), 167-199. https://doi.org/10.1177/13540688030092003
  32. Grimaldi, S., & Vercesi, M. (2018). Political careers in multi-level systems: Regional chief executives in Italy, 1970–2015. Regional & Federal Studies, 28(2), 125-149.
  33. Hazan, R. Y., & Rahat, G. (2010). Democracy within parties: Candidate selection methods and their political consequences. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  34. Harmel, R, & Janda K. (1996). The Party Change Project, available at http://
  35. www-polisci.tamu.edu/programs/cross/data/
  36. Heuwieser, R. J. (2018). Submissive Lobby Fodder or Assertive Political Actors? Party Loyalty of Career Politicians in the UK House of Commons, 2005–15. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 43(2), 305-341.
  37. Hughes, M., Paxton, P., Clayton, A., & Zetterberg, P. (2019). Global gender quota adoption, implementation, and reform. Comparative Politics, 51(2), 219–238.
  38. Ignazi, P. (2013). Forza senza legittimità: il vicolo cieco dei partiti. Bari: Gius. Laterza & Figli Spa.
  39. Ignazi, P., & Pizzimenti, E. (2014). The reins of intra-party power in the Italian political parties (1990-2011). Rivista italiana di scienza politica, 44(3), 223-246.
  40. Ignazi, P., & Bordandini, P. (2018). I muscoli del partito. Il ruolo dei quadri intermedi nella politica atrofizzata. Bologna: Il Mulino.
  41. IPU-Parline:https://data.ipu.org/women-averages?month=12&year=2022&op=Show+averages&form_build_id=form-yBNrbNWEZcykRpimJs2xOzxHhmgl9vDv0jzp01_65xc&form_id=ipu__women_averages_filter_form
  42. Jahr, S., & Edinger, M., (2015). Political Careers in Europe. Career Patterns in Multi-Level Systems, London: Bloomsbury Publishing,
  43. Janda, K. (1980). Political Parties: A Cross-National Survey. New York: The Free Press,
  44. Katz, R.S. & Mair, P. (1992). The membership of political parties in European democracies, 1960–1990, European Journal of Political Research, 22(3): 329–345
  45. Kleinbaum D. G. & Klein, M., (2010), Logistic Regression. A Self-Learning Text. New York: Springer
  46. Kerevel, Y. (2019). Empowering women? Gender quotas and women’s political careers. The Journal of Politics, 81(4), 1167-1180.
  47. Kitschelt H. (2006), ‘Movement Parties’, in Richard S. Katz and William J. Crotty (eds.), Handbook of Party Politics, New York: Sage, pp. 278-90.
  48. Koop, R., & Bittner, A. (2011). Parachuted into Parliament: candidate nomination, appointed candidates, and legislative roles in Canada. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties, 21(4), 431-452.
  49. Krook, M. L. 2007. Candidate Gender Quotas, A Framework for Analysis. European
  50. Journal of Political Research 46 (3): 367 –94.
  51. Krook, M. L. (2010). Quotas for women in politics: Gender and candidate selection reform worldwide. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  52. Lasswell, H., (1948). Power & Personality, New York: Chapmann & Hall
  53. Lawless, J. (2012), Becoming a Candidate. Political Ambition and the Decision to Run for Office, Cambridge University Press.
  54. Lazarus, J., Steigerwalt, A. and Clark, M. (2022). Time Spent in the House: Gender and the Political Careers of U.S. House Members. Politics and Gender. pp. 1–36. doi:10.1017/S1743923X21000428.
  55. Matland R. E (2005). “Enhancing Women’s Political Participation, Legislative Recruitment and Electoral Systems.” In Women in Parliament, Beyond Numbers, eds. Julie Ballington
  56. and Azza Karam, Stockholm: IDEA, 93 –111.
  57. Matland R. E., & Montgomery, K.A (eds.) (2003). Women’s Access to Political
  58. Power in Post-Communist Eastern Europe. New York: Oxford University Press.
  59. Marino, B., Martocchia Diodati, N., & Verzichelli, L. (2019). Members of the Chamber of Deputies. in The Italian General Election of 2018 (pp. 271-295). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
  60. Musella, F., & Vercesi, M. (2019). Definitions and measures of party institutionalization in new personal politics: The case of the 5 Star Movement. Zeitschrift für vergleichende politikwissenschaft, 13(2), 225-247.
  61. Nicholls, K. (1991). The Dynamics of National Executive Service: Ambition Theory and the Careers of Presidential Cabinet Members. Western Political Quarterly, 44(1), 149–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/106591299104400109
  62. Norris, P. (1996). “Legislative Recruitment.” In Comparing Democracies. Elections and
  63. Voting in Global Perspective, eds. Lawrence LeDuc, Richard G. Niemi, and Pippa Norris. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 184 –215.
  64. Norris, P. (Ed.). (1997). Passages to power: Legislative recruitment in advanced democracies. Cambridge University Press.
  65. Ohmura, T., Bailer, S., Meiβner, P., & Selb, P. (2018). Party animals, career changers and other pathways into parliament. West European Politics, 41(1), 169-195.
  66. Panebianco, A. (1982). Modelli di partito. Organizzazione e potere nei partiti politici, Bologna: Il Mulino.
  67. Pansardi P.; & Pedrazzani, A. (2022) Do (strong) gender quotas make a difference? Multiple candidacies as a party gatekeeping strategy in Italy. Party Politics. pp. 1–15. doi:10.1177/13540688221091052..
  68. Pansardi P., & Pinto, L. (2020) Gender penalty and electoral outcomes in the 2018 Italian elections, Contemporary Italian Politics, 12:3, 300-313.
  69. Passarelli, G. & Tuorto, D. (2018). La Lega di Salvini. Estrema destra di governo. Bologna: Il Mulino
  70. Pedersen, H. H., & Rahat, G. (2021). Political personalization and personalized politics within and beyond the behavioural arena. Party Politics, 27(2), 211-219.
  71. Peters, B. G. (2010). The Politics of Bureaucracy. An Introduction to Comparative Public Administration. Sixth Edition. Abingdon: Routledge
  72. Pilet, J-B., Tronconi, F., Onate, P., Verzichelli, L. (2014). Career patterns in multilevel systems, in Deschouwer K. & Depauw, S. (eds.) Representing the People: A Survey Among Members of Statewide and Substate Parliaments, Oxford University Press, 2014 pp. 209-226
  73. Pizzimenti, E. (2020). Tigri di carta. Debolezza dei partiti e instabilità sistemica in Italia (1994-2018). Pisa: Pisa University Press.
  74. Poguntke, T., Scarrow, S. E., Webb, P. D., Allern, E. H., Aylott, N., Van Biezen, I., ... & Verge, T. (2016). Party rules, party resources and the politics of parliamentary democracies: How parties organize in the 21st century. Party politics, 22(6), 661-678.
  75. Praino, R. and Stockemer, D. (2018) The Career Length and Service of Female Policymakers in the US House of Representatives. Government and Opposition. 53 (3), pp. 437–460.
  76. Putnam RD. (1976) The Comparative Study of Political Elites. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Prentice-Hall.
  77. Regalia, M. (2021). Una democrazia dimezzata. Milano: Egea.
  78. Saalfeld, T. (1997). Professionalisation of parliamentary roles in germany: An aggregate‐level analysis, 1949–94. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 3(1), 32-54.
  79. Sampugnaro, R., & Montemagno, F. (2020). Women and the Italian general election of 2018: selection, constraints and resources in the definition of candidate profiles. Contemporary Italian Politics, 12(3), 329-349.
  80. Schlesinger, J. A., (1966), Ambition and Politics, Chicago: Rand McNally and Co.
  81. Searing, D. (1994). Westminster's world: understanding political roles. Harvard University Press.
  82. Shabad, G., & Slomczynski, K. M. (2002). The Emergence of Career Politicians in Post‐Communist Democracies: Poland and the Czech Republic. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 27(3), 333-359.
  83. Siavelis, P., & Morgenstern, S. )2008) Pathways to Power: Political Recruitment and Candidate Selection in Latin America. Philadelphia, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press
  84. Squire, P. 1993. Professionalization and Public Opinion of State Legislatures. Journal of Politics, 55: 479–491.
  85. Stolz, K. (2003). Moving up, moving down: Political careers across territorial levels. European Journal of Political Research, 42(2), 223-248.
  86. Stolz, K., & Fischer, J. (2014). Post-cabinet careers of regional ministers in Germany, 1990–2011. German Politics, 23(3), 157-173.
  87. Tavits, M. (2012). Organizing for success: party organizational strength and electoral performance in postcommunist Europe. The Journal of Politics, 74(1), 83-97.
  88. Thorlakson, L. (2013). Measuring Vertical Integration in Parties with Multi-level Systems Data. Party Politics, 19(5), 713–734.
  89. Tremblay M, (ed.). (2008). Women and Legislative Representation: Electoral Systems,
  90. Political Parties, and Sex Quotas. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
  91. Thurber, J. A. (1976). The Impact of Party Recruitment Activity upon Legislative Role Orientations: A Path Analysis. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 533-549.
  92. Tronconi, F. (2018). Sub-national Political Elites, in Best, H., & Higley, J., (eds.) The Palgrave Handbook of Political elites, Londra: Palgrave Macmillian
  93. Tronconi, F., & Verzichelli, L., (2015), La nuova rivoluzione nel ceto parlamentare. Effetti congiunturali e interpretazioni diacroniche, in Chiaramonte, A., & De Sio, L. Terremoto elettorale. Le elezioni politiche del 2014. Bologna: Il Mulino.
  94. Tronconi, F., & Verzichelli, L., (2019), Il ceto parlamentare al tempo del populismo, in Chiaramonte, A., & De Sio, L., Il voto del cambiamento. Le elezioni politiche del 2018, Bologna: Il Mulino
  95. Vanlangenakker, I., Wauters, B., & Maddens, B. (2013). Pushed toward the exit? How female MPs leave parliament. Politics & Gender, 9(1), 61-75.
  96. Blondel, J., Thiebault, J-L., Czernika, K., Inoguchi, T., Pathmanad, U., Venturino F., (2010), Political leadership, parties and citizens : the personalisation of leadership, London ; New York : Routledge,.
  97. Vercesi, M. (2018). Approaches and lessons in political career research: Babel or pieces of patchwork?, Revista Espanola de Ciencia Politica, https://doi.org/10.21308/recp.48.07
  98. Vercesi, M. (2015). Owner parties and party institutionalisation in Italy: is the Northern League exceptional?. Modern Italy, 20(4), 395-410.
  99. Verzichelli, L. (2010). Vivere di politica: come (non) cambiano le carriere politiche in Italia. Bologna: Il Mulino.
  100. Verzichelli, L., Marino, B., Marangoni, F. and Russo, F. (2022) The Impossible Stability? The Italian Lower House Parliamentary Elite After a “Decade of Crises”. Frontiers in Political Science. 4: pp. 1–15.
  101. Weber, M. (1919) Politik als Beruf. In: Geistige Arbeit als Beruf. Vier Vorträge vor dem Freistudentischen Bund. München: Zweiter Vortrag.