The global financial crisis and the subsequent European debt crisis led to new political challenges for the European Union member countries, especially in the more vulnerable societies. This paper analyzes the effects of economic performance, political institutions and social preferences on the crisis management reactions of political elites in Southern European countries since 2008. It explores two typical mechanisms diverting the political procedures of European democracies from their usual stream: an increasing delegation of power to non-elected economic policy experts and the strengthening of populist political leaders. The causal explanation reveals that the most important factors of the political elites’ crisis management reactions are the economic performance of the pre-crisis period, the intensity of political polarization and the attitudes of citizens towards welfare entitlements.
