Party crisis, what party crisis?

Abstract

This paper explores Piero Ignazi’s thesis that today there is a crisis of political parties rooted in a disjuncture between what parties do today (how they behave) and public expectations, which are rooted in nostalgia for a past ‘golden era’. Exploring the two actors essential to this thesis (voters and parties) reveals weaknesses in the argument. Regarding voters, the thesis is insufficiently sustained empirically, with further work needed both on a generational issue and the core issue of the nature of the public dissatisfaction with parties. Regarding parties, the thesis largely overlooks a particular family party (populist parties) which, it could be argued, have done and are doing precisely what Ignazi has said is needed. In that respect, Ignazi’s thesis seems to be directed not at parties per se but at one specific set of parties: mainstream parties. Yet, the final paradox is that the mainstream parties of yesteryear, to a large extent, no longer exist, so Ignazi is looking in the wrong direction.