Trial by Fire: Surviving the Loss of a Foundational Party Leader

SANTIAGO ANRIA; JENNIFER CYR; GABRIEL VOMMARO

Buenos Aires

Congreso; 2023 IPSA Conference; 2023

IPSA

How do political parties respond when their foundational leader ceases to be a viable contender for national office? In this paper we examine how parties readjust after major leadership upheaval, a serious organizational challenge that can put a party’s continued existence into doubt. We find that a party’s origin story is key for how they adapt in the short-term. How a party was founded helps to define who is consulted and how decisions are made, enabling the successful organization of a national electoral campaign without the foundational party leader at the helm. We show that a party’s origins shape in great part how it adapts to serious organizational setbacks. To make this case, we examine the successful adaptation of the PRO in Argentina after the dramatic second-term presidential loss of Mauricio Macri, and that of the MAS in Bolivia after Evo Morales’ sudden departure from office.