CONSER VA TIVE POLITICS IN WESTERN EUROPE

Transcription

1 CONSER VA TIVE POLITICS IN WESTERN EUROPE The strength of Conservative and Christian democratic parties in postwar Western Europe has been remarkable in an epoch which has seen the spread of socialist and communist governments to so many parts of the world. In France, Italy, Britain and West Germany moderate right-wing governments have ruled for much of the postwar period. In Scandinavia Conservative parties have only recently begun to increase their membership and support after a long period of electoral failure compared with the social democratic parties. In Spain a moderate Conservative government has been elected in the first free elections since the Spanish Civil War, while in Belgium all the traditional parties have found it hard to cope with the divisive language issue which has caused major changes in the Belgian political system. This book examines and explains the success or failure of Conservative parties in the major countries of Western Europe. Each contributor provides an expert and up-to-date analysis of Conservative politics in these countries.

2 Also edited by Zig Layton-Henry CONSERVATIVE PARTY POLITICS

3 CONSERVATIVE POLITICS IN WESTERN EUROPE Edited by Zig Layton-Henry

4 For Jennifer and Alison Selection and editorial matter Zig Lay ton-henry 1982 Chapter I Gillian Peele 1982 Chapter 2 W. John Money 1982 Chapter 3 Sten Berglund and Ulf Lindstrom 1982 Chapter 4 Ib Faurby and Ole P. Kristensen 1982 Chapter 5 Bjarne Kristiansen and Lars SvAsand 1982 Chapter 6 Alf Mintzel 1982 Chapter 7 Anthony Mughan 1982 Chapter 8 Hermann von der Dunk 1982 Chapter 9 Jean-Claude Colliard 1982 Chapter 10 Patrick Lecomte 1982 Chapter II Mario Caciagli 1982 Chapter 12 Kenneth Medhurst 1982 Chapter 13 Geoffrey Pridham 1982 Softcover reprint of the hardcover I st edition 1982 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission First published 1982 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD London and Basingstoke Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI /

5 Contents Preface Acknowledgements Notes on the Contributors Introduction: Conservatism and Conservative Politics vii viii ix The Character of Modern British Conservatism Gillian Peele 21 2 Some Causes and Consequences of the Failure of Scottish Conservatism William John Money 47 3 The Conservative Dilemma: Ideology and Vote Maximisation in Sweden Sten Berglund and Uif Lindstrom 69 4 Conservatism in Denmark: A Profile of Party Activists Ib Faurby and Ole P. Kristensen 83 5 The Conservative Party in Norway: From Opposition to Alternative Government Bjarne Kristiansen and Lars Svasand Conservatism and Christian Democracy in the Federal Republic of Germany Aif Mintzel The Failure of Conservative Politics in Belgium Anthony Mughan Conservatism in the Netherlands Hermann von der Dunk The Giscardians Jean-Claude Colliard The Political Forces of French Conservatism: Chirac's Rassemblement and the President's Party Patrick Lecomte The Mass Clientelism Party and Conservative Politics: Christian Democracy in Southern Italy Mario Caciagli Spanish Conservative Politics Kenneth Medhurst Christian Democrats, Conservatives and Transnational Party Cooperation in the European Community: Centre-Forward or Centre-Right? Geoffrey Pridham 318 Index 347 v

6 Preface After the Second World War conservative ideas and political parties were largely discredited in most European countries. The links between conservatism and fascism, and collaboration by prominent conservatives and conservative groups with the Nazis, cost them considerable support in many countries. The Left was triumphant in most of Western Europe. There were popular front governments formed in France and Italy, the Labour party swept to victory in Britain, and social democratic parties dominated Scandinavia. Some conservative parties, for example in Britain, fought their way to electoral recovery by adopting welfare capitalist policies, and similar policies were advocated by Christian democratic parties. The onset of the Cold War helped the recovery of parties of the democratic Right. In the 1950s and 1960s the European economic miracle led to a revolution of rising expectations, under which parties which were committed to managing capitalism humanely did well. In the 1970s the onset of economic depression in Europe has coincided with a resurgence of conservatism even in such bastions of social democracy as Scandinavia. The continuing strength of conservative parties in Western Europe has been one of the most remarkable political phenomena in a world increasingly dominated by revolutionary ideas, rhetoric and action. This book examines the nature of conservative politics in the major Western European countries with particular emphasis on the leading Conservative parties in each country. The idea for the book grew out of a workshop on Conservative Politics which was held at the annual meeting of the European Consortium for Political Research held in Brussels in April The progress of the book has been greatly assisted by the generous help and encouragement of colleagues and friends, particularly Willie Paterson, Wyn Grant, Jack Lively, Wilfrid Harrison and Geoffrey Pridham. I am grateful to Kim Hewitt, Dorothy Parkin and Geoffrey Pridham for their generous help with translation. August 1980 vii ZIG LAYTON-HENRY

7 Acknowledgements The editor and publishers wish to thank the following who have kindly given permission for the use of copyright material: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., for the article 'Christian Democracy in Southern Italy: the Mass Clientele Party and Conservative Politics' by Mario Caciagli,. published in the European Journal of Political Research, vol. 9, 1979; Finsk Tidskrift, Sweden, for the tables from the article 'The Conservative Dilemma' by Sten Berglund and Ulf Lindstrom; Heinemann Educational Books and Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc., for the table from Democracy in Western Germany (1979) by G. Smith; Le Monde, for the table compiled from data in the article 'Electorats de la majorite: unite et clivages' by R. Cayrol and J. Jaffre, published II March 1978; the National Central Bureau of Statistics, Sweden, for the data from 'The 1973 Elections', vol. 3, pp 90-1, and 'The 1976 Election', vol. 3, pp 166; Oxford University Press for the table from 'The British General Election of 1979' by Peter Pulzer in Parliamentary Affairs, vol. xxxii, no. 4, 1979; A. D. Peters & Co. Ltd on behalf of Richard Rose, for the two tables from Studies in British Politics (1976); Projet, Paris, for the maps by Alain Lancelot in his article 'Europe numero zero -les premieres elections europ(:ennes des 7 et 10 juin 1979' from vol. 138, Sept. -Oct. 1979; and Sage Publications, London, for the two tables from Dr Alf Mintzel's chapter in Elections and Parties edited by Max Kaase and Klaus von Beyme. Every effort has been made to trace all the copyright holders but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangement at the first opportunity. viii

8 Notes on the Contributors STEN BERGLUND is Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Umea, Sweden. He is co-author of The Scandinavian Party System(s) and author of Paradoxes of Political Parties. MARIO CACIAGLI is Professor of Political Science at the University of Catania. He is co-author of Un sistema politico alia prova and of Democrazia cristiana e potere nel Mezzogiorno. He has written numerous articles on the electoral politics of Italy, Spain and West Germany. JEAN-CLAUDE COLLIARD is Professor of Politics at the University of Nantes. He is author of Les republicains independants: Valery Giscard d'estaing; Gouvernments et majorites dans les regimes parlementaires contemporains; La designation du Premier Ministre en regime parlementaire. IB FAURBY is Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Aarhus. He has been a Fulbright scholar at the University of Southern California. His main research interests are in comparative foreign policy, on which he has published numerous articles. OLE P. KRISTENSEN is Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the University of Aarhus. He has been a visiting fellow at the University of Southern California and his main research interests are in Danish politics, on which he has written a number of articles. BJARNE KRISTIANSEN is a graduate student of politics at the University of Bergen. His main research interests are in electoral politics and he has published articles on local elections in Norway. ZIG LAYTON-HENRY is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Warwick and is editor of Conservative Party Politics. His main research interests are in British political parties and the politics of race, on which he has published numerous articles. ix

9 x Notes on the Contributors PATRICK LECOMTE is Maitre-Assistant at the Institute of Political Studies, University of Grenoble. He has written numerous articles on French, Algerian and Quebec politics. ULF LINDSTROM is a graduate student of politics at the University of Umea. He is co-author of The Scandinavian Party System(s) and his main research interest is the radical right in Scandinavia KENNETH MEDHURST is Professor of Politics, University of Stirling. He is author of Government in Spain, Allende's Chile (editor), The Basques and Catalans and The Politics of Colombian Catholicism. His main research interests include the politics of Spain and Latin America, and religion and politics. ALF MINTZEL is Assistant Professor at the Central Institute for Applied Social Research, Free University of Berlin. He is the author of Die CSU: Anatomie einer Konservativen Partei and of numerous articles on the CSU and West German party politics. WILLIAM JOHN MONEY is Lecturer in Public Administration, University of Glasgow. His main research interests include the administrative response to change, civil-military relations and problems of liberal democracy. ANTHONY MUGHAN is Lecturer in Politics at University College, Cardiff. His major research interests include Belgian politics and British and American voting behaviour. His publications include articles in the American Political Science Review, the British Journal of Political Science, and Political Studies. GILLIAN PEELE is Fellow and Tutor in Politics, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She is joint editor of The Politics of Reappraisal and co-author of The Government of Britain. GEOFFREY PRIDHAM is Lecturer in European Politics at the University of Bristol. He is author of Christian Democracy in Western Germany and Change and Continuity in the Italian Party System: The Case of Tuscany in the 1970s. He is co-author with his wife Pippa of Transnational Party Co-operation and European Integration: The Process towards Direct Elections.

10 Notes on the Contributors LARS SVASAND is Acting Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the University of Bergen. His main publications and research are on political parties, social movements and voluntary associations in Norway_ HERMANN VON DER DUNK is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Utrecht. He is the author of numerous publications including Belgien und der deutsche Vermatz, (1966) and Conservatisme (1976).. xi