This book studies political leadership at the local level, based on data from a survey of the mayors of cities of more than 10,000 inhabitants in 29 European countries carried out between 2014 and 2016. The book compares these results with those of a similar survey conducted ten years ago. From this comparative perspective, the book examines how to become a mayor in Europe today, the attitudes of these politicians towards administrative and territorial reforms, their notions of democracy, their political priorities, whether or not party politicization plays a role at the municipal level, and how mayors interact with other actors in the local political arena. This study addresses students, academics and practitioners concerned at different levels with the functioning and reforms of the municipal level of local government.                                                              

Hubert Heinelt is Professor of Public Administration, Public Policy and Urban Research at the Institute for Political Science, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany. Annick Magnier is Professor of Urban Sociology and Jean Monnet Chair in The City in European Integration at the Department of Political and Social Science, University of Florence, Italy. Marcello Cabria is a PhD candidate in a joint programme between the Department of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Florence, Italy, and the Department of Cultures, Politics and Society at the University of Turin, Italy. Herwig Reynaert is Professor at the Department of Political Sciences and the Dean of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at Ghent University, Belgium.                     ;                      

Chapter 1. Introduction; Hubert Heinelt, Annick Magnier, Marcello Cabria and Herwig Reynaert.- Chapter 2. Local government systems: Grasping the institutional environment of mayors; Hubert Heinelt, Nikos Hlepas, Sabine Kuhlmann and Pawe Swianiewicz.- Chapter 3. From the few are still chosen the few? Continuity and change in the social background of European Mayors; Kristof Steyvers and Lluis Medir.- Chapter 4. How to become a mayor? Mayoral career patterns, seniority and ambitions; Jérémy Dodeigne, Joanna Krukowska and Aist Lazauskien.- Chapter 5. Institutional environments and mayors role perceptions; Ivan Kopri, Eva Marín Hlynsdóttir, Jasmina D¸ini and Enrico Borghetto.- Chapter 6. Mayors notions of local democracy; Angelika Vetter, Hubert Heinelt and Lawrence E. Rose.- Chapter 7. Leadership Styles of European Mayors: How much have they changed over the past twelve years?; Nikos Hlepas, Thanos Chantzaras and Panos Getimis.- Chapter 8. Mayors agendas: Emerging variations on the theme of entrepreneurialism; Marcello Cabria, Annick Magnier and Patricia Pereira.- Chapter 9. Political leadership in issue networks: How mayors rule their world?; Bas Denters, Kristof Steyvers, Pieter-Jan Klok and Daniel ermák.- Chapter 10. Mayors and vertical relations after the financial crisis; Oliver Dlabac, Marta Lackowska and Daniel Kübler.- Chapter 11. Mayors and Parties; Björn Egner, Adam Gendwi, Pawe Swianiewicz and Werner Pleschberger.- Chapter 12. Mayors in the Town Hall. Patterns of relations and conflict among municipal actors; Carmen Navarro, David Karlsson, Jaume Magre and Iveta Reinholde.- Chapter 13. Mayors and Administrative Reforms; Sabine Kuhlmann, Markus Seyfried and Irena Balija Brajnik.- Chapter 14. Mayors and spatial planning in their cities; Annick Magnier, Panos Getimis, Marcello Cabria and Luis Baptista. Chapter 15. Conclusion; Herwig Reynaert, Hubert Heinelt, Annick Magnier and Marcello Cabria.        ;