ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses a ‘negative case’ of change in candidate section. Although one expects the political crisis to trigger the emergence of new parties – and together with them innovative (inclusive) forms of candidate selection, no major reform of internal party democracy has been observed in Belgium. The last decades have witnessed the rise of new parties, but they have tended to select their candidates in more exclusive and centralised ways over the years. Besides, no major reshuffle in candidate selection has occurred among the traditional parties, despite the crisis context. The chapter relies on several waves of candidate surveys, but also on interviews with party officials and examination of party statutes. It seeks to offer an explanation of this curious case where the crisis did not cause significant changes to the way in which political parties select their candidates.
