The Spitzenkandidaten Process in the Context of the EP Campaign: The Role of Party Competition

The Spitzenkandidaten system was envisaged as a way of transforming the character of elections to the European Parliament (EP). To gain a better understanding of how this ambitious aim has met empirical reality, we focus on political parties dealing with the European-wide lead candidates in EP electoral campaigns. More precisely, we study the perspective of political parties by drawing on Euromanifesto data. On the one hand, we analyse country differences and test whether European-wide lead candidates have generated more visibility in their home countries while, on the other, we take a closer look at the statements made about the Spitzenkandidaten principle in the respective Euromanifestos to learn more about the reasons for its potentially positive or negative assessment. Findings from these analyses allow for more detailed insights into the issue of transnational party competition in Europe. On top of examining previous and current trends, this contribution sets out what we might expect when it comes to the Spitzenkandidaten process for the upcoming 2024 EP elections.