A Study On The Convergence Of Political Parties In The Czech Republic

The convergence of political parties is a common political phenomenon in European and American countries.In Central and Eastern Europe,the convergence of Czech political parties is particularly prominent.With the start of socio-economic transformation after 1989,the Cze ch Republic began to adopt a multi-party competitive party system.During the next 20 years of evolution of the party system,two main Czech political parties,the center-left Czech Social Democratic Party and center-right Civic Democratic Party alternated in government,exercisi ng decisive influence on the development of society and the country.In the process of ongoin g political competition between these main rivals and their minor coalition partners,party syst em in the Czech Republic displayed many features of the phenomenon of convergence.The main purpose of a political party is to acquire political power,and maximizing votes is its intermediary goal.In order to increase potential voters' support,main political parties in the Czech party system pursued the "catch-all" strategy,gradually diluting their respective ide ologies.This process intensified at the end of 1990 s,when economic transformation was basic ally accomplished,and political and geopolitical orientations guaranteed by membership in th e NATO and EU.The democratic socialist ambitions displayed by Czech social democrats we re in practice accompanied by liberal economic policies(privatization,trade liberalization),w hile the economic libertarian rhetoric Civic Democratic founding fathers was often in practice softened by measures softening social costs of economic transformation.Czech left-wing and right-wing political parties drew lessons from succesful items of each other's agenda,and the convergence not only in practice,but also in explicit rhetoric and platforms became obvious.And analogically,due to this convergence of political platforms and ideas among political part ies,the differences in policies issued by political parties have been continuously narrowed.Cz ech left-wing and right-wing political parties claimed to be committed to solving the problems of housing,taxation,social security,education,medical care and other issues that voters are c oncerned about.Certain consensus about formulation and implementation of policies also eme rged.In terms of military and foreign affairs,both parties regarded "returning to Europe" as th eir foreign policy priority and a guarantee of national security and safety.The Czech Republic was trying to become a full member of the EU and NATO.With the joint efforts of left-wingand right-wing parties,the Czech Republic joined NATO and the EU in 1999 and 2004 respec tively.The convergence of Czech left-wing and right-wing parties has profound internal and ext ernal reasons.From the internal point of view,Czech political parties safeguard the rule of the bourgeoisie and safeguard the interests of the bourgeoisie.It is the consistency of the represe ntatives of these interests that has led to the gradual convergence of the guiding ideology of C zech political parties in their platforms and their internal and external policies.This is the fun damental reason for the convergence of Czech political parties.Next,electoral system for elec tions to the politically decisive House of Deputies is based on proportional representation syst em.No political party has an absolute majority of votes in the parliamentary elections,so eve n major parties need to form a ruling coalition with minor political parties,or with each other.Since such a ruling coalition is a product of political compromise,it is typically be influenced by other political parties in the coalition in the formulation of policies.This internal dynamics increases convergence among political parties.In addition,the changes in class structure and many social problems caused by the rapid development of economic globalization,European i ntegration and scientific and technological revolution have led voters to pay more attention to the solution of social and economic problems and they no longer regard ideology as the only c riterion for their choice of.When Czech left-wing and right-wing parties face the same voters and the same social problems,in order to cater to the preferences of these voters,political part ies are gradually moving to the middle of the political spectrum in their electoral programs an d proposed policies.In addition,the influence of Czech interest groups on party politics and th e social consensus about certain version of democratic ideas have strengthened the trend of co nvergence.From an external perspective,Czech political parties always regarded membership in the EU as priority.The EU's accession criteria therefore played a role in constraining the C zech transformation and following developments.Like other Central and Eastern European co untries,the Czech Republic was required to implement EU "rules and regulations" in order ac hieve membership.This European factor further limited available realistic policy options.Thu s,in parallel to the development in Europe as a whole,Czech party politics was deeply influen ced by the narrowing of the left and right deflection of the " political pendulum".Convergenc e of political parties became a common political phenomenon in Europe,and Czech party convergence was its product and an integral part.In the Czech Republic,even if ruling party changes,the convergence between political p arties is conducive to the continuity of policy implementation.When it is difficult to form a ca binet in the general election,the consensus and compromise between political parties ensure t he smooth transition of the regime and effectively prevent the fights between political parties.However,as political parties move their ideology to the political center,in order to meet the n eeds of average voters,their traditional voters may feel left out and their loyalty will decline.I n addition,the failure of political parties to issue policies with sufficient courage and flexibilit y can affect their ability to solve economic and social problems.Voters' trust in political partie s in general can gradually decline,resulting in apathy of Czech voters.This paper mainly discusses the manifestations,causes and influences of the convergenc e of political parties in Czech through the methods of literature review and interdisciplinary re search.I hope this article can provide a different perspective for the study of party politics in Central and Eastern Europe or the Czech Republic.