The parliamentarians of the radical left

In this comparative paper we focus on the political communication aspect of left leadership. Our specific focus is with the candidates and parliamentarians of the radical left parties (RLPs), which we treat as part of the RLPs collective leadership; most often if not always, they include the small circle of central party leadership. We ask three questions. First, what type of political communication activities the candidates (and some of them subsequently elected MPs) of the RLPs use in their campaign. Second, we compare these activities with candidates and MPs from other party families aiming to identify how they differ from candidates of other party families. We purport to see whether there is a distinct type of a left parliamentarian regarding their political communication style, methods and activities. This will also allow inferences about the changes(?) of the political communication style of the RLPs parliamentary elite which are thought to be more collective-oriented. Third, we try to identify whether and why a specific pattern emerges. Our data are based on the Comparative Candidates Survey (CCS) and include 22 European countries. To answer the what and the how questions we examine the answers provided in the CCS by the participant candidates in all European countries in the survey. On a second level, and to answer the whether and why questions, we do a small number of online interviews with candidates and elected MPs from a subset of countries included in the CCS. The focus here is with six countries in two European regions and with different characteristics in their political and party systems, as well as the particular history of the left in each country: Portugal and Greece in the southern part of Europe; and Germany, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark in the northern part of Europe.