Opoziční smlouvy „za kopečky“ I.: Byl pakt ČSSD a ODS z let 1998–2002 demokratickou deviací?

Po parlamentních volbách roku 1998 zformovala vítězná sociální demokracie menšinovou vládu. Vznik a existence této vlády umožňovala dohoda s druhou největší formací - Občanskou demokratickou stranou. Tato dohoda známá jako Opoziční smlouva se stala předmětem velké debaty. Článek analyzuje Opoziční smlouvu ve srovnávací perspektivě s jinými menšinovými vládami s vnější podporou. Text přitom podrobně analyzuje vládní praxi v Dánsku, Švédsku, na Novém Zélandu a v Itálii (v době historického kompromisu) a v tomto kontextu jsou rozebrány specifika českého případu. Z důvodu značné délky je text článku rozdělen na dvě části; první část je publikována v tomto čísle.After the 1998 general elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, the largest party, the Social Democratic Party, formed a minority government. The origin and existence of this government was enabled by an agreement with the second largest formation, the Civic Democratic Party. What was then known as the Opposition Agreement became the subject of considerable debate. The paper analyses the Opposition Agreement in comparison with other minority governments with external support, be they governments formed on the basis of ad hoc agreements or complex ones. The text looks in detail at government practice in Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand, and Italy at the time of the Historic Compromise; this is then used as a context for outlining the specifics of the Czech case. Because of its considerable length, the text is divided into two parts; the first part is printed in this volume

Opoziční smlouvy „za kopečky“ II.: Byl pakt ČSSD a ODS z let 1998–2002 demokratickou deviací?

Toto je druhá část článku, jehož první část byla publikována v předchozím čísle časopisu. Opoziční smlouva z července 1998 dala ČSSD možnost zformovat jednobarevnou vládu, přičemž tato strana získala garanci občanských demokratů, že nepodpoří vyslovení nedůvěry vládě. Hlavním ziskem ODS byly pozice ponejvíce v parlamentu, což se vyskytuje i u některých podobných uspořádání v zahraničí. Nicméně ODS nezískala přímou možnost ovlivňovat exekutivu, jako to umožňuje institut ministrů mimo kabinet na Novém Zélandu nebo politických poradců na ministerstvech ve Švédsku. Text Opoziční smlouvy nezahrnoval ustanovení o programové spolupráci s důležitou výjimkou představy rozsáhlých reforem politického systému země, která ale nebyla blíže specifikována. Právě tento nedostatek přispěl ke konci roku 1999 ke krizi Opoziční smlouvy (zvláště důležitá byla neshoda ohledně reformy volebního systému). Společně s problémem, jak zajistit schválení státního rozpočtu, to vedlo k nové dohodě obou velkých stran nazvané Toleranční patent. Toleranční patent sice na jedné straně výrazně posílil kooperaci ČSSD a ODS, ale na druhé straně ani on nevytvořil silně institucionalizovanou dohodu o spolupráci.This is the second part of a two–part paper, the first one having been published in the previous volume of this journal. The Czech Opposition Agreement of July 1998 gave the ČSSD the chance to form a single-party government; moreover, the party received a guarantee from the ODS that it would not support a no-confidence vote. The main gains for the ODS were several posts mainly in parliament, as is common under some similar arrangements abroad. However, the ODS did not gain a strong or direct way of influencing executive power, as there was no parallel to ministers outside the cabinet as in New Zealand, or political advisors to the ministries as in Sweden. The text of the Opposition Agreement did not include any paragraph about cooperation in terms of supporting a particular program. The only, but important, exception was the idea of reforming the political system, which, however, lacked specific details. It was this lack of details that, in the fall of 1999, contributed to a crisis in the Opposition Agreement because of disagreements between the ODS and ČSSD on major reforms to the electoral system. Along with the problem of how to collect enough votes to approve the budget, the issue of electoral reform became the subject of a new agreement between the two big parties that was called the Tolerance Patent. The Tolerance Patent significantly strengthened cooperation between the ČSSD and ODS, but, on the other, it did not constitute a comprehensively institutionalized agreement on cooperation

Referendum in theory and practice: the history of the Slovak referendums and their consequences

This article deals with the theory and practice of Slovak referendum. Special aim is concentrated on referendum in 1997 (held on NATO accession and on the direct election of the president of the Slovak Republic). Generally speaking referendums brought with a lot of problems. Their outcome was polarization of society and political elite. All Slovak referendums were unsuccessful (with the exception of last referendum – euro referendum in 2003). Concerning the consolidation of Slovak democracy referendums had a negative impact

Strange Bedfellows : A Hyper-pragmatic Alliance between European Liberals and an Illiberal Czech Technocrat

The article deals with the membership of the most important Czech political party, ANO (meaning “yes” in Czech), led by Andrej Babiš, in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). Our goals are to reconstruct how Babiš’s party joined ALDE and to discuss the ideological differences between ANO and ALDE. The paper shows that ALDE’s offer of membership in 2014 was motivated by a pragmatic need to bolster its own position in the European Parliament; ANO, meanwhile, needed to anchor itself in European politics. Andrej Babiš’s technocratic and illiberal view was not apparent at the beginning, but more importantly, this did not matter to ALDE. ALDE’s Czech “point of contact,” ANO’s foreign policy expert and the leader of its party group in the European Parliament, Pavel Telička, made ANO’s membership credible. However, as a Euro-optimist, Telička was not compatible with ANO’s flexible ideological character in the long term and the party group split up. A comparison of the parties’ European Parliament election manifestos and positions on crucial controversial European issues clearly reveals a deep division between ALDE and ANO and their fundamentally opposed ideological positions. We describe the findings as a new hyper-pragmatic trend in the creation of Europarties, which weakens their ideological cohesion.Článek se věnuje členství ANO Andreje Babiše v Alianci liberálů a demokratů pro Evropu (ALDE). Cíli článku je rekonstruovat cestu ANO do ALDE a debatovat ideologické rozdíly mezi ANO a ALDE. Text ukazuje hluboký rozdíl mezi ALDE a ANO a fundamentální neslučitelnost jejich ideologických pozic, což dokládá hyperpragmatický trend v podobě Eurostran

Which conservatism? The identity of the Polish Law and Justice party

This article deals with Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS), considered a conservative party in the scholarly literature. Drawing largely on party manifestos, the article demonstrates the character, the specificities and the evolution of the party’s identity and ideology. A theoretical basis for the undertaking is provided by Klaus von Beyme’s concept of party families, Arend Lijphart’s seven ideological dimensions and classic texts on conservatism. The analysis finds that the most important components in PiS’s current identity are Catholicism itself and the great emphasis the party places on the role of the Catholic Church. Also important for the party’s identity are visions of a nation conceived on ethnic principle, a strong and active state able to form society with a national spirit, anti-communism and a negation of developments in Poland since 1989. A substantial role is played by the quasi-religiously conceived legacy of the party’s co-founder, Lech Kaczyński, who tragically perished in an aircraft crash. With its Catholic-nationalist profile, PiS is close to the Christian current within the conservative New Right, and to Polish National Democracy in the interwar period.Článek se zabývá polskou politickou stranou Právo a spravedlnost (PiS), která je v akademické literatuře považována za konzervativní stranu. Smyslem textu je zejména s pomocí stranických programů ukázat charakter, specifika a vývoj stranické identity a ideologie. Teoretickou bází tvoří koncept party families Klause von Beymeho, sedm ideologických dimenzí Arenda Lijpharta a klasické texty zabývající se konzervatismem. Analýza dochází k závěru, že nejdůležitější složkou současné identity PiS jsou katolicismus a s tím spojený enormní důraz na úlohu katolické církve. Dále jsou pro stranickou identitu významné převážně etnicky chápaný národ, vize silného a aktivního státu schopného formovat společnost v národním duchu, antikomunismus a negace vývoje Polska po roce 1989. Značnou roli hraje také kvazinábožensky pojímaný odkaz spoluzakladatele strany Lecha Kaczyńského, který tragicky zahynul při letecké havárii. Svým katolicko-nacionálním profilem má PiS blízko ke křesťanskému proudu konzervativní Nové pravice, podobně jako k polské Národní demokracii mezi světovými válkami

The Far Right in Europe: A summary of attempts to define the concept, analyze its identity, and compare the Western European and Central European far right.

This paper focuses on the far right with emphasis on summing up some of its more widespread definitions, evaluating the reasons for classifying it as a distinctive family of parties, and comparing of the Western European and (post-Communist) Central European far right. The text presents the theories of Piero Ignazi, Hans-Georg Betz, Cas Mudde, and other authors. The best working definition of the contemporary far right may be the four-element combination of nationalism, xenophobia, law and order, and welfare chauvinism proposed for the Western European environment by Cas Mudde. This concept allows for a basic ideological classification within a unified party family, despite the heterogeneity of the far right parties. Comparison of Central European far right parties with those of Western Europe shows that these four elements are present in Central Europe as well, though in a somewhat modified form, despite differing political, economic, and social influences.This paper focuses on the far right with emphasis on summing up some of its more widespread definitions, evaluating the reasons for classifying it as a distinctive family of parties, and comparing of the Western European and (post-Communist) Central European far right. The text presents the theories of Piero Ignazi, Hans-Georg Betz, Cas Mudde, and other authors. The best working definition of the contemporary far right may be the four-element combination of nationalism, xenophobia, law and order, and welfare chauvinism proposed for the Western European environment by Cas Mudde. This concept allows for a basic ideological classification within a unified party family, despite the heterogeneity of the far right parties. Comparison of Central European far right parties with those of Western Europe shows that these four elements are present in Central Europe as well, though in a somewhat modified form, despite differing political, economic, and social influences

The Analysis of New Civic Alliance’s Activity in Slovak Politics

The article deals with political trajectories of New Civic Alliance (ANO) in Slovakia. This liberal formation was founded by a media tycoon Pavol Rusko. Besides Rusko, the leadership of ANO includes several well-known personalities from sport, media, cultural and economic fields. In the September 2002 elections the Alliance received prominent support from Rusko’s media and secured 8 % of the votes. After the elections ANO became a member of the right-centre government coalition headed by Mikuláš Dzurinda. The relationships between ANO and other coalition partners were full of conflicts. In Autumn 2005 a big financial scandal affected the chairman Pavol Rusko, the party broke up and went to opposition. In the elections in 2006, the party gained only 1.4 % of the votes. The article tries to explain what the organisation model ANO was like and why its „life” was so short

The Analysis of New Civic Alliance’s Activity in Slovak Politics

The article deals with political trajectories of New Civic Alliance (ANO) in Slovakia. This liberal formation was founded by a media tycoon Pavol Rusko. Besides Rusko, the leadership of ANO includes several well-known personalities from sport, media, cultural and economic fields. In the September 2002 elections the Alliance received prominent support from Rusko’s media and secured 8 % of the votes. After the elections ANO became a member of the right-centre government coalition headed by Mikuláš Dzurinda. The relationships between ANO and other coalition partners were full of conflicts. In Autumn 2005 a big financial scandal affected the chairman Pavol Rusko, the party broke up and went to opposition. In the elections in 2006, the party gained only 1.4 % of the votes. The article tries to explain what the organisation model ANO was like and why its „life” was so short

How to run an efficient political machine : the billionaire Andrej Babiš and his political-business project

This paper contributes to the debate on entrepreneurial parties with the empirical example of the Czech ANO party. The authors focus on selected aspects of the internal organisation and functioning of the party, emphasising the points where business methods and practices are transferred to the environment of party politics. The empirical part shows how the leader has built loyalty inside the party, and analyses its methods of control and coercion that are similar to the human resources recruitment techniques used in businesses. The authors investigate such matters as the vetting of candidates for public offices, the significant barriers created against those wishing to join the party and the party leadership’s strict control over membership. The article also describes the development of ANO’s electoral-professional services and the creation of mass media support. In conclusion, the authors discuss the broader future for the internal workings of entrepreneurial parties – including their lack of intra-party democracy – and their relationship with the changing landscape of contemporary party politics.Článek přispívá k debatě o podnikatelských stranách rozborem empirického případu české strany ANO. Autoři se zaměřili na vybrané aspekty vnitřní organizace a fungování strany se zdůrazněním těch momentů, v nichž jsou metody z byznysu přenášeny do stranické politiky. Empirická část ukazuje, jak leader buduje loajalitu uvnitř strany, a analyzuje metody kontroly a donucení, jež jsou podobné HR technikám používaným v prostředí byznysu. Autoři zkoumali například vetování kandidátů do veřejných pozic, bariéry omezující možnost vstupu do strany a striktní kontrolu vedení strany nad členskou základnou. Článek také popisuje vývoj profesionálních procesů uvnitř ANO a vytvoření mediální podpory straně. V závěru autoři diskutují šířeji budoucnost vnitřních mechanismů fungování podnikatelských stran, včetně nedostatku vnitrostranické demokracie, a jejich vztahu k měnící se „krajině“ současné stranické politiky