Democratic consolidation is founded on the connection between legitimization and anchorage. If there is minimal legitimacy, the anchors become decisive in consolidation. If on the other hand, legitimacy is widely recognized from the outset, or if a secondary legitimization process develops, the anchors have hardly any importance, but remain useful for defining the democracy that has been consolidated. This theory is verified based on case studies of four southern European countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece).