Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-16T15:33:49.272Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Portuguese Radical Left Parties Supporting Government: From Policy-Takers to Policymakers?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2019

Elisabetta De Giorgi Open the ORCID record for Elisabetta De Giorgi [Opens in a new window]  and
João Cancela Open the ORCID record for João Cancela [Opens in a new window]
Elisabetta De Giorgi*
Affiliation:
Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
João Cancela
Affiliation:
Department of Political Studies and IPRI, Nova University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author. Email: edegiorgi@units.it
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

How do parties that have long been confined to opposition behave once they take the decision to support government? This article analyses the case of the three Portuguese radical left parties that took such a move in the wake of the post-bailout 2015 election. Leveraging the concept of contract parliamentarism and the analysis of different data sources through different methods, we show that the three parties adopted a similar strategy after agreeing deals with the centre-left socialists. Specifically, while keeping close scrutiny on the executive action, the parties have voted consensually on most of the legislation proposed by the government. In exchange, the majority of policy pledges agreed with the socialists were implemented by the beginning of the legislature. Based on these findings, the article underlines the importance for supporting parties of conducting a thorough negotiation of policy goals and the timing of their implementation before joining the government, and of pursuing an autonomous discursive agenda.

Keywords

political partiesradical leftgovernmentoppositionPortugalcontract parliamentarism
Type
Article
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 56 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , pp. 281 - 300
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Government and Opposition Limited and Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akkerman, T, Lange, SL de, and Rooduijn, M (2016) Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in Western Europe: Into the Mainstream? New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Albertazzi, D and McDonnell, D (2005) The Lega Nord in the Second Berlusconi Government: In a League of its Own. West European Politics 28(5), 952–972. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402380500310600.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anghel, V and Thürk, M (2019) Under the Influence: Pay-Offs to Legislative Support Parties under Minority Governments. Government and Opposition: An International Journal of Comparative Politics, published early online, April, https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2019.11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aylott, N and Bergman, T (2004) Almost in Government, But Not Quite: The Swedish Greens, Bargaining Constraints and the Rise of Contract Parliamentarism. ECPR joint sessions of workshops, Uppsala.Google Scholar
Bäck, H and Bergman, T (2016) The Parties in Government Formation. In Pierre, J (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Swedish Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 206–223.Google Scholar
Balampanidis, I et al. (2019) ‘Bridges Over Troubled Waters’? The Competitive Symbiosis of Social Democracy and Radical Left in Crisis-Ridden Southern Europe. Government and Opposition: An International Journal of Comparative Politics, published early online, April. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2019.8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bale, T and Bergman, T (2006) Captives No Longer, but Servants Still? Contract Parliamentarism and the New Minority Governance in Sweden and New Zealand. Government and Opposition: An International Journal of Comparative Politics 41(3), 422–449. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-7053.2006.00186.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bale, T and Dunphy, R (2011) In from the Cold? Left Parties and Government Involvement Since 1989. Comparative European Politics 9(3), 269–291. https://doi.org/10.1057/cep.2010.12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costa Lobo, M, Costa Pinto, A and Magalhães, PC (2016) Portuguese Democratisation 40 Years on: Its Meaning and Enduring Legacies. South European Society and Politics 21(2), 163–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2016.1153490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cunha, C (2008) Few but Pure and Good Members Are Preferred to a Mass Party: The Portuguese Communist Party's Continued Orthodoxy. In Backes, U and Moreau, P (eds), Taking Stock of Communist and Post-Communist Parties in Europe. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, pp. 193–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Giorgi, E and Dias, AL (2019) Portuguese Observatory on Parliamentary Dynamics Database (POPaD): Information on Legislative Process, Scrutiny Activity and Speeches in the Portuguese Parliament. (Development version) [Datafile and Codebook]. https://popad.org.Google Scholar
De Giorgi, E and Ilonszki, G (eds) (2018) Opposition Parties in European Legislatures: Conflict or Consensus? London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Giorgi, E, Moury, C and Ruivo, JP (2015) Incumbents, Opposition and International Lenders: Governing Portugal in Times of Crisis. Journal of Legislative Studies 21(1), 54–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2014.939561.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Giorgi, E and Russo, F (2018) Portugal: The Unexpected Path of Far Left Parties, from Permanent Opposition to Government Support. In Giorgi E, De and Ilonszki, G (eds), Opposition Parties in European Legislatures: Conflict or Consensus? London: Routledge, pp. 95–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Giorgi, E and Santana Pereira, J (2016) The 2015 Portuguese Legislative Election: Widening the Coalitional Space and Bringing the Extreme Left In. South European Society and Politics 21(4), 451–468. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2016.1181862.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Lange, S (2012) New Alliances: Why Mainstream Parties Govern with Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties. Political Studies 60(4), 899–918. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2012.00947.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deschouwer, K (2008) New Parties in Government: In Power for the First Time. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dumont, P and Bäck, H (2006) Why so Few, and Why so Late? Green Parties and the Question of Governmental Participation. European Journal of Political Research 45(s1), S35–S67. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2006.00649.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunphy, R and Bale, T (2011) The Radical Left in Coalition Government: Towards a Comparative Measurement of Success and Failure. Party Politics 17(4), 488–504. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068811400524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernandes, JM (2016) The Seeds for Party System Change? The 2015 Portuguese General Election. West European Politics 39(4), 890–900. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2016.1150645.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernandes, JM, Magalhães, PC and Santana-Pereira, J (2018) Portugal's Leftist Government: From Sick Man to Poster Boy? South European Society and Politics 23(4), 503–524. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2018.1525914.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fishman, RM (2011) Democratic Practice after the Revolution: The Case of Portugal and Beyond. Politics and Society 39(2), 233–267. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032329211405439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freire, A (2017) Para lá da ‘Geringonça’: o Governo de Esquerdas em Portugal e na Europa. Lisbon: Contraponto.Google Scholar
Freire, A, Lisi, M and Lima, I (2015) Crise Económica, Política de Austeridade e o Potencial de Coligação da ‘Esquerda Radical’ Portuguesa. In Freire, A, Lisi, M and Viegas, JML (eds), Crise Económica, Políticas de Austeridade e Representação Política. Lisbon: Assembleia da República, pp. 385–410.Google Scholar
Heinisch, R (2003) Success in Opposition – Failure in Government: Explaining the Performance of Right-Wing Populist Parties in Public Office. West European Politics 26(3), 91–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402380312331280608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobolt, SB and Tilley, J (2016) Fleeing the Centre: The Rise of Challenger Parties in the Aftermath of the Euro Crisis. West European Politics 39(5), 971–991. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2016.1181871.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koß, M (2010) Close to, but Still Out of, Government: The Swedish Vänsterpartiet. In Olsen, J, Koß, M and Hough, D (eds), Left Parties in National Governments. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 105–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lisi, M (2013) Rediscovering Civil Society? Renewal and Continuity in the Portuguese Radical Left. South European Society and Politics 18(1), 21–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2012.757450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lisi, M (2016) U-Turn: The Portuguese Radical Left from Marginality to Government Support. South European Society and Politics 21(4), 541–560. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2016.1225331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
March, L (2008) Contemporary Far Left Parties in Europe: From Marxism to the Mainstream? Berlin: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.Google Scholar
March, L and Mudde, C (2005) What's Left of the Radical Left? The European Radical Left After 1989: Decline and Mutation. Comparative European Politics 3(1), 23–49. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.cep.6110052.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maxwell, K (1989) The Consolidation of Political Democracy in Portugal: Some Unanswered Questions. Portuguese Studies 5, 161–177.Google Scholar
Minkenberg, M (2013) From Pariah to Policy-Maker? The Radical Right in Europe, West and East: Between Margin and Mainstream. Journal of Contemporary European Studies 21(1), 5–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2013.766473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moury, C (2011a) Coalition Agreement and Party Mandate: How Coalition Agreements Constrain the Ministers. Party Politics 17(3), 385–404. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068810372099.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moury, C (2011b) Italian Coalitions and Electoral Promises: Assessing the Democratic Performance of the Prodi I and Berlusconi II Governments. Modern Italy 16(1), 35–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593969.2010.481090.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Müller, WC and Strøm, K (1999) Policy, Office, or Votes? How Political Parties in Western Europe Make Hard Decisions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Narud, HM (1996) Electoral Competition and Coalition Bargaining in Multiparty Systems. Journal of Theoretical Politics 8(4), 499–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/0951692896008004004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newell, J (2010) Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Governing Dilemmas of Rifondazione Comunista. In Olsen, J, Koß, M and Hough, D (eds), Left Parties in National Governments. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 52–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nyblade, B (2013) Government Formation in Parliamentary Democracies. In Müller, WC and Narud, HM (eds), Party Governance and Party Democracy. New York: Springer, pp. 13–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsen, J, Koß, M and Hough, D (2010) Left Parties in National Governments. London: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rooduijn, M, Van Kessel, S, Froio, C, Pirro, A, De Lange, S, Halikiopoulou, D, Lewis, P, Mudde, C and Taggart, P (2019) The PopuList: An Overview of Populist, Far Right, Far Left and Eurosceptic Parties in Europe. http://www.popu-list.org.Google Scholar
Royed, TJ (1996) Testing the Mandate Model in Britain and the United States: Evidence from the Reagan and Thatcher Eras. British Journal of Political Science 26(1), 45–80. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123400007419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strøm, K (1990a) A Behavioral Theory of Competitive Political Parties. American Journal of Political Science 34(2), 565–598. https://doi.org/10.2307/2111461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strøm, K (1990b) Minority Government and Majority Rule. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tarchi, M (2003) L'Italia Populista: Dal Qualunquismo ai Girotondi. Bologna: Mulino.Google Scholar
Thesen, G (2016) Win Some, Lose None? Support Parties at the Polls and in Political Agenda-Setting. Political Studies 64(4), 979–999. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9248.12223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vidal, G (2018) Challenging Business as Usual? The Rise of New Parties in Spain in Times of Crisis. West European Politics 41(2), 261–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2017.1376272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

De Giorgi and Cancela supplementary material

Online Appendix

Download De Giorgi and Cancela supplementary material(File)
File 15.3 KB