Astudillo Ruiz, Javier2021-06-282021-06-282015Astudillo J. Losers' second chances and control of the party machine: aspirant premiers in regional Spain. South Eur Soc Polit. 2015 Jun 12;20(2):181-201. DOI: 10.1080/13608746.2015.10517581360-8746http://hdl.handle.net/10230/47989In parliamentary democracies, controlling party machines has traditionally been a key asset for nascent political leaders, allowing them to continue in their position even after suffering a bad electoral start. Recent research suggests that in ‘old democracies’ this is no longer the case. Seeking to find whether this finding also applies to ‘young democracies’, the article analyses a dataset (built by the author) of candidates from the main national parties for the premiership of the Spanish Comunidades Autónomas, to ask whether being party chair increases the chances of ‘reselection’ after losing a first election. I conclude that in Spain, an example of a ‘young’ democracy, party machines still play a fundamental role at the start of politicians' leadership careers.application/pdfeng© This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in South Eur Soc Polit on 2015 Jun 12, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13608746.2015.1051758info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2015.1051758Presidentialisation of electionsParty machinesTop candidate selectionPolitical leadersYoung democraciesRegional electionsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess