Opposition Parties in European Legislatures: Conflict or Consensus?

0490337 - SOÚ 2019 RIV GB eng M - Monography Chapter
Guasti, Petra - Mansfeldová, Zdenka
Czech Republic: weak governments and divided opposition in times of crisis.
Opposition Parties in European Legislatures: Conflict or Consensus? Abingdon, New York: Routledge, 2018 - (De Giorgi, E.; Ilonszki, G.), s. 133-149. ISBN 978-1-138-67487-5
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA16-04885S
Institutional support: RVO:68378025
Keywords : coalition * opposition * crisis
OECD category: Political science

The first two decades of democracy in the Czech Republic were characterised by a quick stabilization of a multiparty system with two dominant parties. The chapter illustrates the end of this stability and the complicated governance in the Czech Republic in period 2003-2013 by studying the voting behaviour. Weak and unstable governing coalitions grapple with the presence of two types of opposition – permanent opposition and mainstream opposition. Their behaviour was ideologically determined. On austerity and budget policies, permanent opposition acted along ideological lines, rejecting these measures, while the mainstream opposition’s reaction was more nuanced. After an initial cooperative action, the mainstream opposition switched from consensus to a conflict. This shift in behaviour took place in the context of increased salience of socio-economic issues and the fall of public support for the government. The consequence of weak governing coalitions and a confrontational style of opposition was the recurrence of non-partisan governments used to bridge the party divides and ensure the completion of the legislative term.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0284580