Political Alternation in the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands

Table of Contents

1. Frontmatter

2. Part I

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 1. Setting the Scene: Introduction

      Teresa Ruel

      Abstract

      With millions I do inaugurations, and with inauguration I won elections. After 44 years of regional democracy in Madeira, a statement by the former regional premier for almost all of its history Alberto João Jardim is still to be the ruling party winning formula.

      The Social-Democratic Party (PSD, Partido Social-Democrata) come into office on Portuguese regions—Azores and Madeira—with the first regional elections of June 1976 and remained in power in Madeira since and ruled in Azores for 20 years until the PS took over the executive in 1996 and which remained in power since them.

      In the Spanish Comunidad Autonóma de Canárias, state-wide parties (PSOE, Partido Socialista Obrero Español; CDS, Centro Democratico y Social and AP/PP, Alianza Popular/Partido Popular) became dominant during the two decades of democracy (1983–1995) until the Coalición Canaria (regionalist party) come into office in 1995 (in a coalition with PP), which lasted until 2015. These cases raise the question: Why does political alternation occurs in some political systems and not in others?

   3. Chapter 2. Theoretical Framework and Literature Review

      Teresa Ruel

      Abstract

      This chapter advances the theoretical framework and the major contributions of political science that are critical to frame my argument. It defines the concepts and a body of studies that will help to address my research puzzle. This chapter is structured as follow: first it looks at democracy literature and party competition; secondly it discusses the key-concept of this book—political alternation—and the scholarly contributions that have been developed on this topic, connecting the perspectives. Finally, it addresses through the regional politics literature the major research advances to the topic.

   4. Chapter 3. Mapping the Cases: The Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands

      Teresa Ruel

      Abstract

      This chapter is devoted to the mapping the cases—the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands. Thus it well set up a comparative overview of the historical background and the major critical events that triggered decentralization. Furthermore, it outlines the regional institutional architectures, including the institutions, electoral rules, and party systems, and the fiscal arrangements with which regions are endowed in order to manage their sources and allocation of resource within territory.

3. Part II

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 4. Party Competition at Regional Level

      Teresa Ruel

      Abstract

      This chapter offers a set of insights related to the party competition in regional elections and the electoral performance of political parties at the regional level to illuminate why some political parties tend to do better than others at elections. It presents the constellation of parties and the regional government formation at the regional level and regional elections results over the last 40 years (1976 to 2016). Additionally, to forge theoretical links with key features of regional politics, I account for contextual variables such as the pattern of party competition, electoral competitiveness, and disproportionality.

   3. Chapter 5. Intra-party Democracy

      Teresa Ruel

      Abstract

      Party leaders are the forefront holders of public office and a critical factor for understanding why voters vote for a party (Bittner, A., Platform or personality? The role of party leaders in elections. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011). In this chapter, I tackle the major features of the organizational structure of political parties that have been operating at the regional scale of politics. I account for intra-party dynamics regarding the parties vertical organization; the leadership selection’ procedures governing each party, and the tenure in office displayed by each party leader across the three regional contexts.

   4. Chapter 6. Regional Economic Performance

      Teresa Ruel

      Abstract

      This chapter addresses economic performance at the regional level. Regional governments acquired important powers and consequently have been endowed with fiscal tools in order to pursue collective goals. Decentralization processes have been the result of specific political dynamics of each country (Eaton, K., Political obstacles to decentralization: Evidence from Argentina and the Philippines. Development and Change, 32(1), 101–127, 2001). It maps whether there are common patterns that can be identified across the features of regional economies at the Azores, Madeira, and Canary Islands. The variables considered include the regional GDP, unemployment profile, and public debt as major defining indicators as well as citizens’ perception of the economic situation according to Flash Eurobarometer surveys.

   5. Chapter 7. Conclusions

      Teresa Ruel

      Abstract

      As democracy, alternation in office is a never–ending quest. The critical relevance of political alternation, the mechanisms which drive or hamper into it, still remain a big puzzle. Many questions remain opened. The general findings illuminated here, call for more in-depth case studies on regional democracies, providing variation on the constellation of institutional factors and/or regional features that might help to our understanding of this unpredictable phenomena of full-fledged democracies—political alternation. Furthermore, regional surveys are required to gather, on one hand, how citizens perceive regional democracy; on the other hand, why voters, vote for the same party over time. The historical and political legacies, strong regional leaders and a supportive economic performance are three intervening factors which contribute to the lack of alternation in office or long-terms of incumbency among the three insular regions. Likewise, ruling parties also have been reinforced by the incumbency advantages associated to public office over time. Long-terms of incumbency or the lack of political alternation reveal some systemic features among regional democracies performance. The virtuous politics behind the survival in office in the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands signal remarkably path-dependent outcomes, such as the lack of accountability of political actors to the citizens; the promiscuous relationship among private and public interests; government spending and control of economic performance; the crystallization of political elites and clientelislic practices.

4. Backmatter