ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways new and οld political actors select their candidates since the crisis with an emphasis on SYRIZA and ND. We argue that SYRIZA’s candidate-selection methods did not come as a reaction to pressures generated by the political crisis and subsequent calls for more democracy. On the contrary, the crisis and the fact that SYRIZA became a new mainstream party ready to govern resulted in a more centrally coordinated process without the use of any innovative measures that could press traditional parties to mimic them. ND’s mechanisms remained centralized, whilst electoral defeat and leadership change seem to be the basic drivers for change. SYRIZA and ND have candidate selection methods that differ substantially at the beginning of the period under investigation, and then slightly converge once SYRIZA obtains a more realistic chance of governing and the role of central party elites becomes crucial.
