Based on the hypothesis that voters prefer parties with a good chance of forming a government, this project explores whether parties gain votes beyond their ideological appeal if they are potential candidates to be the next prime minister’s party. To investigate the impact of the label "prime minister candidate's party" on parties’ electoral performance, the project analyses election results, dedicated surveys, and experimental data at the level of the German federal states as well as cross-nationally. Additionally, the project seeks to propose a functional definition of the “prime minister candidate’s party” based on its projected electoral performance, reputation, and media coverage.
