ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the professionalization of political campaigning in the context of the 2009 European parliamentary elections. The origins of political campaign professionalization may be found in the continuous development of communication technology and expertise, but it is also a product of societal trends such as increasing mediatization and a more volatile electorate. Empirical comparisons show that this also seems to be true for election campaigns both on the European level and on the national level. Yet, their political systems show clear differences, which should, at least theoretically, create differences in the degrees of campaign professionalization. In the following sections we will first compare the two countries according to systemic variables, namely the electoral system, campaign regulations, and voting patterns, followed by a comparison of the degree of campaign professionalization. The chapter focuses on some party variables that may be important in mediating systemic features and professionalized campaigning.
