Party Systems and elections in west European Democracies.

(An article written for Ministry of Truth news website)

A few years before 1970, two Professors, Lipset and Rokkan, came up with a radical theory which attracted the international scientific interest. Their theory became known as the Freezing Hypothesis of the party systems. In the core of the freezing hypothesis lies the finding that the west European democracies partys systems was actually frozen and during the 60s they were still reflecting the structures and the fundamental social divisions of 1920s, which was the time that they had been actually formed. In other words, the political parties which were seeking for electoral support during 60s, were operating in an outdated legal framework while having in their cell an economical, political and class framework that being 40 years, was incapable to express the then contemporary perceptions. The party systems and their key players, political parties, even slowly but managed to melt the ice and walk away from the distant 1920s. They incorporated part of the electorates concerns, either to prevail their opponents or to avoid extinction. But where we are standing now? Do party systems still evolving? The Economist, in a recent article makes a special mention to the collapse of the institutions that they were traditionally linked with political parties. Institutions like the Church for countries with Christian democratic political formations, as well as the trade unions for the left spectrum parties. As a consequence the collective political identities are fading out, and the voters can hardly be influenced or expressed by a political party. Indeed, in Sweden the Socialists Party has lost its natural first position in the government while something similar happened to Irelands Fianna Fil. In Germany, England and Greece, the standard switch in power of two major parties has been altered, and now support of smaller political formations are needed to exercise governmental power. It seems that we can still trace ices in the party systems, which cannot follow up rapidly changing and transforming societies. Alongside this case, it is now added the debt crisis in euro zone. A crisis which has set the fundamental social divisions on a new basis, but without these divisions to be duly noted in the existing political formations. As a result, the inconsistency of the party systems with the electorate leads on the one hand to the subexpression of one part of the society and on the other to the fragmentation of the political system in its effort to produce alternative solutions which take the form of new small parties.

If we believe that this subexpression and fragmentation of the political systems should be avoided, then there is no other pathway than the evolution (once again) of the framework, the culture and the political behavior of the party systems, so they can be in a position to understand and enclose the voters new perceptions, new anxieties and beliefs. If this point is reached, then new collective identities will emerge, strong enough to assure the voters that structures and institutions of yesterday will not decide for tomorrow.