ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the social composition of councils in each of the four countries such as Hungary, Poland, and the Czech and Slovak republics and use this as a basis for analyzing variances among countries and types of municipalities within each country. It examines the process of recruitment and the elements of self-selection in the recruitment of the new political elites through data concerning citizens' willingness to stand for election and candidates' willingness to stand for re-election. The chapter investigates both the willingness of citizens to serve as councilors and the willingness of councilors to continue for more than one term. It focuses on the local political parties within the context of East-Central Europe. The chapter analyzes the policy positions of mayors, treating mayors in this fashion as spokespersons for their respective parties. It explores the political culture of parties on five dimensions: market individualism, social individualism, egalitarianism, paternalism, and clientelism.
