Development of Parties and Party Systems in ... - lah@sam.sdu.dk
Development of Parties and Party Systems in ... - lah@sam.sdu.dk
Development of Parties and Party Systems in ... - lah@sam.sdu.dk
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Before 1989 “postcommunist” parties had cooperated closely with the communist parties <strong>in</strong>side thenational fronts, other “historic” parties had been outlawed under the communist rule <strong>and</strong> were“reborn” after the demise <strong>of</strong> communism. We also f<strong>in</strong>d parties established almost spontaneously<strong>and</strong> maybe therefore hardly can be placed on a right-left scale 16 . In some cases, the memories aboutthe upris<strong>in</strong>gs aga<strong>in</strong>st the communist regimes <strong>and</strong> the circumstances <strong>and</strong> the ways <strong>of</strong> demise <strong>of</strong> theold regime had created specific “foundation myths”, lead<strong>in</strong>g to “early freez<strong>in</strong>g” <strong>of</strong> old socio-culturalcleavages.The agrarian parties can not easily be placed on the right-left axis. In Pol<strong>and</strong> the peasants party PSLhave constituted a centre-left party because <strong>of</strong> the historic background <strong>in</strong> the communist period <strong>and</strong>the cooperation with left alliance SLD after 1990. The Christian-Democratic KDU-CSL took part <strong>in</strong>the ODS-led governments <strong>in</strong> the Czech Republic, after the 2002 election <strong>in</strong> Vladimir Spidlas socialdemocratic led government. In Hungary, the Smallholders <strong>Party</strong> (FKGP) has appeared as an classparty only enter<strong>in</strong>g coalitions with the centre-right Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) <strong>and</strong>FIDESZ.The right-leftPost-communist conflicts <strong>and</strong> cleavagesdimension deviatedfrom those known• (post)communism versus anticommunism (all countries)from alreadyestablished partysystems <strong>in</strong> the• state versus church (e.g. Pol<strong>and</strong>)West. Cleavages <strong>in</strong>the post-communist• liberalism versus cosmopolitism (e.g. Hungary)CEECs tended tobe• National ethnic conflicts (e.g. <strong>in</strong> Slovakia)multidimensional<strong>and</strong> as rightlyagued by Mikos• Free market versus regulated market the Czech Republic) Haraszti to aextent alsoculturally <strong>and</strong>polically(communist-anticommunist) based 17 . There has therefore rightly been talked about specific“cleavages <strong>and</strong> conflict l<strong>in</strong>es <strong>of</strong> transformation” (Hlousek etc, 2004:48). In the first stage the parties<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>dividual participants became representatives <strong>of</strong> the (post) communism versus anticommunismconflict. In the later stages <strong>of</strong> post-communism the socio-economic cleavages, e.g. the conflictabout the free market versus regulated market conflict, became more strik<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> not only <strong>in</strong> theCzech Republic. Cultural cleavages, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g national ethnic conflicts have especially beenstrik<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the “deviat<strong>in</strong>g case” <strong>of</strong> Slovakia, maybe due to the late <strong>and</strong> complex nation build<strong>in</strong>g, thatbrought the parties <strong>and</strong> party systems unstable, “immature” <strong>and</strong> “non st<strong>and</strong>ard” characteristics.Opposite, socio-economic cleavages have been rather weak <strong>in</strong> the case <strong>of</strong> Slovakia1.7. Anti-communism <strong>and</strong> the Right16 Michal Klima, “Consolidation <strong>and</strong> Stablization <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Party</strong> System <strong>in</strong> the Czech Republic”, Political Studies(1998):496.17 Miklos Haraszti, “Young Bloods, Hungary’s election results promise a new taste <strong>of</strong> political salami”, Transitions,July 1998:48-52.23