Leiden University, NL, 3 February 2006

People

Elin Allern, Tim Bale, Catia Chierici, Sarah de Lange, Elodie Fabre, Stefano Fella, Jane Green, Sean Hanley, Steven Van Hecke, Dan Hough, Petr Kopecký, André Krouwel, Stefan Kubat, Peter Ucen,Tania Verge.

Presentations

Centre-right parties and interest organisations in Norway
Elin H. Allern, University of Oslo

A key issue in the debate on the development of political parties is to what extent party organizations are today embedded in civil society through various types of links with external interest organizations. It is widely agreed that the long-established relationships between Social Democratic parties and trade unions have declined, but the relation of political parties to other social organizations is not well-studied empirically. More systematic and detailed insight is needed into the relation of parties to interest organizations in general. An in-depth comparative case study of Norwegian political parties suggests that it could be that significant differences exist between centre-left and centre-right parties' relation to interest groups, but also that the conclusion may depend on how 'centre-right' is defined. In general, the preliminary results of this study show that the Norwegian centre-right parties have a more distant relationship with their traditionally associated interest organization than Labour, and that the Liberals and the Conservatives by and large have weaker links with interest organizations in general than has the Labour party. However, for example, the Centre Party puts comparatively strong emphasis on organized contact with external interest groups, and if unorganized, actual contact is included the Conservatives have more wide-ranging networks of links with interest organizations than many others.

The Italian centre-right and civil society
Stefano Fella, London Metropolitan University

The paper seeks to explore the evolution of the relationship between the Italian centre-right and civil society against the backdrop of the political transition that has taken place in Italy since the early 1990s. The collapse of the Christian-Democratic party (DC) that dominated post-war Italian politics could in part be attributed to the decline in importance of the catholic sub-culture (and catholic civil society) within which is was rooted. Only since the collapse of Christian-Democracy has a self-styled centre-right emerged in Italy (though the old DC partly occupied this political space). The new parties that have emerged on the centre-right have only partly inherited (and in a much looser way) the links with catholic civil society enjoyed by the DC. The paper highlights how Forza Italia, as an extreme case of an electoral-professional party generally seeks to bypass civil society by appealing directly to public opinion, as is evident in a case study of the Berlusconi government's relationship to pro-immigrant and anti-racist associations. Moreover, the patrimonial nature of Forza Italia makes a clearly defined relationship with the party's natural business allies rather problematic. Elsewhere, its coalition allies - the post-fascist AN and the regional populist Northern League - enjoy the support of flanking organisations set-up precisely to give themselves the impression of a degree on enmeshment in civil society. In the case of the AN, collateral organisations set-up by its neo-fascist predecessor, the MSI have been inherited, although the party has also sought to develop ties with business organisations and enjoys links with some catholic organisations. Nevertheless, such organisations continue to channel their interests through the various splinters from the DC, including the UDC on the centre-right, as well as the PPI-Margherita on the centre-left.

Centre- right parties and society in Central Europe: the case of Slovakia.
Peter Ucen, International Republican Institute

There are some general factors to be considered accounting for a variance in Slovak political parties' relations to society. These factors, pertaining to the rise of party democracy in the country, are namely the nature of founders of parties in early 1990s and "irresistible temptation of partitocracy" as an instrument of tackling challenges of party building and party competition. The centre right in Slovakia has had five 'historic' sources or components since 1989. Each of these components developed different relationships with dominant societal actors namely business, trade unions and NGOs. The main finding in case of Slovakia is that, in general, there is no coherent and systematically cultivated relationship between political parties and societal actors. The opportunism pervading Slovak party politics has been more important, for example, than party family.

The Spanish centre-right and civil society
Tania Verge, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona

Parties are not static actors but can adapt to the new challenges and demands posed by society. The Spanish case proves that movement toward the state through public financing is compatible with a new approach to society. Contrary to the cartel model, ideological and political polarization, rather than collusion has been a constant from the first years of democracy. The appearance of the internet has extended the fan of possibilities through which citizens can put their demands to the representatives. Parties have also created structures of communication between their deputies and citizens, though whether the latter make much use of them is a moot point. Furthermore, new instances of collaboration with social organizations have been developed to expand the range of inputs into electoral programs. In the case of the left of centre parties, the adoption of a catch-all strategy has not led to the deliberate erosion of the "party in the ground", although membership participation has never been neither quantitatively massive nor qualitatively important. The approach to society by the centre-right is more instrumentalist than that observed in the left. To a greater extent, the Partido Popular seeks consultancy and inputs from below, but not to introduce really participatory measures. Most obviously, electoral competition has played an important role in the transformation of parties, giving opposition parties greater incentives to transform their organizations.

The FDP and its linkages with Germany's civil society
Stefan Kubat, Free University Berlin

The FDP emerged as a party with no special social base and has, therefore, always had weak linkages with the German civil society. This is reflected in its small number of party members. Moreover, the FDP has no formal ties with pressure groups. Consequently, participation in parliament and government was seen as a vital condition for the survival of the FDP. When the party lost its governmental position as a result of the 1998 federal election, the survival of the FDP was put into question. As a result, the FDP has changed its strategies in different ways, particularly focusing on strengthening its linkages with civil society. Three different measures can be distinguished. First, the FDP has tried to make membership more attractive. Second, it increased the opportunities for non-member participation. Third, it has paid more attention to media communication and new forms of campaigning. In other words, old forms of linkage based on membership have been complemented but not replaced by new forms based on direct and media communication. Accordingly, there has not been a transformation to an electoral-professional party in Panebianco's terms. With regard to election results and membership data, the adopted strategies have proved to be quite successful.

The CDU/CSU and German Civil Society
Dan Hough, University of Sussex

The CDU/CSU has traditionally possessed a dense network of organisations with which to interact with civil society. The Federal Republic's culture of consensus democracy has further facilitated close ties between both of the main catch-all parties and a wide variety of groups. Processes of partisan dealignment have subsequently not prevented the CDU/CSU from continuing to interact with a wide variety of non-governmental actors and organisations, even if the nature of these relationships continues to evolve. The one genuine exception to this dynamic remains in eastern Germany where - even 15 years after unification - linkages remain weak. The level of state support given to each of the parties has undoubtedly been a key variable in explaining the denseness of these linkages when compared with those that exist in other countries.

The British Conservative Party and Civil Society
Tim Bale, Sussex University
Jane Green, Nuffield College, Oxford

The British Conservative Party almost certainly needs to do something about its attenuated links with civil society. The Party is not only small and socially unrepresentative but electorally weak, although it is seeking to overcome this weakness by 'modernizing' - insisting it is in touch and moving into the 'centre-ground'. Forging relationships with 'real' people and groups will help signal that move, but also assist in the policy re-tooling and selling that will have to accompany it. It may also help it raise resources. The Party has a number of options: vitalising its membership; reaching out to think-tanks that are more than just the usual suspects; setting up groups, commissions and taskforces; championing existing causes and linking up with groups promoting them; expanding its donor base; and entering into a closer relationship with business organisations. None of these are new ideas, and many involve trade-offs that may not result in positive outcomes. But we should not be too dismissive. Firstly, we need to remember that there probably never was a golden age where the Party had incontestably deep (let alone formal) links into the associative life of the UK. Second, any party so obviously in opposition would have found it hard to develop open, explicit links. Finally, and following on from the first point, rushing off to create links in the traditional way may be a fool's errand: the Party maybe better off thinking about making itself a more permeable, virtual and open network - something more in tune with the twenty-first rather than the twentieth century.