The territorial dimension of ministerial selection in Spain: Constrained consociationalism under majoritarian cabinets

Abstract

Although frequently depicted as a purely majoritarian system, the recruitment of executive elites in Spain is said to incorporate unofficial ‘quotas’ allowing the representation of territorial minorities. But does the selection of cabinet ministers in Spain produce consociational-like effects? This study aims to answer this question through a statistical model based on an original dataset of 223 cabinet ministers and 375 appointments from 1977 to 2021. It is demonstrated that territorial selection depends on three main variables: the regional educational level, the marginalization of plurilingual autonomous communities and the exclusion of ethno-regionalist parties at the Congress. Consequently, our main hypothesis must be rejected. The main reason explaining the lack of the consociational ministerial recruitment phenomenon in Spain seems to rely on the behaviour of ethno-regionalist parties at the Congress. To avoid potential electoral losses, these actors have developed a strong preference for national policies favouring their own constituencies, rather than for ministerial positions within the Spanish cabinet.