Spitzenkandidaten beyond Westminster: Comparing Chancellor Candidates in Germany and Austria.

Top candidates of political parties are increasingly identified as a preeminent factor in electoral campaigns and with regard to winning governmental office; yet they have always been important to a deeper understanding of party competition. This article looks into German and Austrian post-war chancellor candidates, that is, the parties' lead candidates reaching out for the top job in the executive branch. The more particular focus is on the political profiles and track records of non-incumbent candidates challenging a sitting chancellor. The study proceeds from a brief discussion of German and Austrian 'peculiarities', judged against the established parameters of Westminster-style politics, to a comparative empirical assessment. Of the four hypotheses developed (relating to constitutional features, parties and party families, opportunity structures for female candidates and 'personalisation'), only one is supported by our empirical findings. However, the notable problems of relating empirical patterns to theoretical propositions may not all be caused by political contingency. To some extent, it seems, they rather reflect the strategic choices of challenging parties specifically designed to generate the impression of 'freshness', and to take incumbents by surprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]