AUTHOR=Legein Thomas , van Haute Emilie 

TITLE=Fame and factions: A process-tracing analysis of the 2019 leadership selection process in the Belgian French-speaking liberal party (MR)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Political Science

VOLUME=Volume 4 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/political-science/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.1057051

DOI=10.3389/fpos.2022.1057051

ISSN=2673-3145

ABSTRACT=This paper applies process-tracing methods to understand the 2019 leadership selection process in the Belgian French-speaking liberal party MR, oldest and second largest party in French-speaking Belgium. We triangulate a variety of sources to assemble a rich qualitative material that is used to contrast the formal rules and outcome of the race to the actual process. We show that the gatekeepers were not the ones ascribed in the statutes, that formal rules were bended to fit the profile of the race, and that the very nature of the race was much closer to a coronation that the results may suggest. We also uncover mechanisms through which party actors, especially the incumbent leader as steering agent, informally steer the process to the desired outcome, with the race being played prior the validation of the candidacies. This analysis puts the focus on when and how key actors use their informal influence to weight on the process and influence the outcome of leadership races.