Abstract
This article addresses and observes the crisis of Western democracy through the lens of the weakness of parties and party government, especially at the European Union (EU) level. Social stratification changes, global trends and ultimately the sustained economic crisis have placed political parties at the national and the EU level under enormous strain. Moreover, demands posed by the crisis on national governments by the EU have generated conflicting interests of different member states. The resulting development of Horizontal Euroscepticism has made intergovernmental decision making, which has represented the backbone of the EU legitimacy up to now, extremely problematic and has posed the need for rethinking democracy in multi-level Europe, ultimately by strengthening supranational democracy through the creation of a form of party government at the EU level as well.
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Notes
The development of a veritable cleavage shift was described as being responsible for the emergence and challenge of populist parties in the last two decades (Krouwel, 2012).
The poster was banned in the city of Abano Terme, a well-known resort in the Veneto region frequented by German tourists. Marco Belardi, Idv candidate in the North-East constituency, which includes Veneto, in an interview that he gave while sporting a T-shirt that reproduced the slogan, declared that it did not express opposition to the German people but only to a German-centred Europe. To the extent, however, that the EU is indeed perceived by Idv electors as being German-centred, the potentially Eurosceptic implications of this position are clear.
This allegation was never officially confirmed, nor was it denied by the Finnish government.
It is too soon to determine whether Horizontal Euroscepticism is going to be a lasting phenomenon with its distinct characteristics or fade, or even become confused with more traditional xenophobic attitudes. This question itself, however, indicates the need for more research on this topic. Issues that would have to be addressed include its origin, its extent and how to measure it, its relation with migration, and its impact on the European demos.
In fact, this could be less of a problem if the four core parties (EPP, Socialists, Greens, and Liberals) should decide to act as a majority coalition opposed by the Left and by the populist-Eurosceptic Right.
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This article is based on a Special Lecture delivered by the author at the Salamanca ECPR Joint Sessions of Workshops on 11 April 2014.
Opinion polls constantly registered benevolent popular attitudes towards the EU policy making in most MS. This circumstance was seen as an acceptance, although passive, of the EU practices and decisions and was termed ‘permissive consensus’.
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bardi, l. Political Parties, Responsiveness, and Responsibility in Multi-Level Democracy: The Challenge of Horizontal Euroscepticism. Eur Polit Sci 13, 352–364 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2014.27
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2014.27