By Oscar Barberà Aresté (University of Valencia) The number of parties in a party system can be linked to its main issue dimensions filtered by other factors such the proportionality of the electoral system. The number of parties and their relevance is also tied to the cabinet bargaining process: the more parties are involved in [...]
By Aleks Szczerbiak (University of Sussex) Following its severe battering in last year’s elections, Poland’s agrarian party faces an existential struggle to hang on to what is left of its electorate. Although it retains considerable assets and is still the greatest potential electoral threat to the ruling party in rural areas, it cannot simply rely [...]
By Boban Stojanović (University of Belgrade) In April, Serbia held early parliamentary elections, the third in the last four years. After early elections in 2014, early parliamentary elections were also held in 2016 (April 24) together with the local elections. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić has decided to go to early elections, with two objectives: [...]
By Olivera Komar (University of Montenegro) The next Montenegrin Parliamentary elections have been scheduled for October 16th. However, as it looks right now – they will bring no significant surprises. Quarter of century long incumbency of Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) will most probably continue without any significant challenges. It did not look that way [...]
By Tim Haughton (University of Birmingham) For once the journalistic clichés were not over the top. The 23 June referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union was a seismic event, an earthquake which brought a dose of destruction to the British political scene: the Prime Minister resigned, allies knifed each other in the Conservative [...]
By Višeslav Raos (University of Zagreb) After the November elections for the Croatian Parliament produced no clear winner, a newcomer party Bridge of Independent Lists (MOST) became a pivot party. This party, actually a loose, ideologically heterogeneous coalition of independent mayors and local citizen initiatives with a joint mission of toppling down the existing political [...]
By Giorgos Charalambous (University of Cyprus and PRIO Cyprus Centre) It has been repeatedly observed how little Cypriot politics has changed since the onset of the post-2008 crisis in relation to the rest of southern Europe, in spite of a growing dissatisfaction with democracy and a rapidly decreasing sense of trust. But the parliamentary elections [...]
By Conor Little (University of Copenhagen) The elections Ten weeks after the general election of 26 February, after the longest government formation process in its history, Ireland has a minority coalition government of Fine Gael – which, under Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Enda Kenny, has been the main incumbent since 2011 – and several non-party (‘Independent’) [...]
By David Pupovac (Central European University Alumni) The background of the election On April 24th, 2016 yet another early parliamentary election took place in Serbia. The ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić from the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), called for an early election in order address the social conflict which blocks the reforms [...]
By Daunis Auers (University of Latvia) The last few years have seen parts of East-Central Europe turn to the populist right. Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party won the 2010 and 2014 parliamentary elections with landslide majorities. Poland’s Law and Justice party has held the presidency and controlled both houses of parliament since October 2015. This has [...]