EN
Multisubject management, a universal model of exercising local politics, requires strong leadership. It is defined here as an activity aimed at binding together the objectives of various participants in the decision-making process. The analytical category applied in the essay is that of institutions, defined as a normative context for the actors' actions; the concept of leadership, on the other hand, has been narrowed down to the institutional conditions under which it is exercised. Three typologies of local leadership have been presented by, respectively: 1) P. E. Mauritzen and J. H. Svary; 2) R. Berg and N. Rao, and 3) that of the authoresses, who distinguish between technocratic, bureaucratic and transformation leadership. The local leadership models presented are supported with examples of the local government institutions in both the 'old' (Finland, France, Great Britain) and the 'new' (Hungary, Estonia, Poland) Europe. Each of the cases has been appraised taking into account the institutional conditions which it provides for multisubject management.