![]() As democracy is under threat in many parts of the world, there has never been a more urgent need to understand political thoughts and behaviours. The case studies suggest that in a federal state like Austria only fundamental reforms such as the introduction of binding primaries could democratize candidate selection in mainstream parties by weakening the entrenched power of (sub-) national party elites.ĭemocracy was forged in the furnaces of oppression, whether combatting tyranny or affirming the rights of the individual. Minor gradual change within stable recruitment systems is found to stem from power shifts within parties caused by the diminishing role of trade unions within the SPÖ and of farmers´ organisations within the ÖVP. Party members with roots in local/ regional party branches either directly enter the Nationalrat or rise through the party machine, which is evidence for decentralised selection processes in which local/regional selectorates play a significant role. Career profiles prove rather stable over time suggesting that parties stick to established recruitment practices. To understand how legislative recruitment has changed over time this article investigates the career profiles of all members (N=1,158) of the Austrian National Counil (Nationalrat) between 19 that either represented Austria´s Social Democrats (SPÖ) or People´s Party (ÖVP). As they tend to have few if any party resources of their own, non-partisan ministers can be easily removed whenever deemed politically expedient. We argue that in contexts marked by advanced levels of anti-party sentiment, non-partisan ministers can bring major benefit to the government in terms of legitimacy, popularity and support, and at a rather low cost or risk. The discussion of this phenomenon highlights the importance of particular strategic considerations among political decision-makers that have been largely ignored in the extant literature on ministerial selection and de-selection. At the centre of this study is the identification and analysis of a major paradox – a sizeable number and share of non-partisan ministers operating at the core of an otherwise exceptionally party-centered regime, the Second Austrian Republic, which has widely been considered to mark the epitome of the party state in Europe. This article seeks to contribute to the bourgeoning debate about technocratic, non-political and non-partisan ministers in party government regimes. These policy solutions address the problem through two main strategies: increasing the number of candidates who have the proper qualifications and encouraging voters to evaluate candidates more deeply and deliberately. We also propose policy solutions to reduce the chance of incompetent leaders being elected. Heuristics are often activated by candidate attributes such as appearance, age, ethnicity, and other characteristics that are not related to leadership potential. In this article, we summarize heuristics commonly used by voters. Unfortunately, these snap judgments can be inaccurate. Instead, they often rely on mental shortcuts called heuristics to make snap judgments about which candidate would do the best job. One reason that unqualified individuals win elections is that voters do not always make logical or rational choices. However, history has demonstrated that this perception can be incorrect. In democracies, the public may assume that people elected to public office are qualified and suited for that office.
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