Lubomír Kopeček

Origin, Ideology and Transformation of Political Parties.East-Central and Western Europe Compared

Two decades have passed since the transition to democracy began in Eastern Europe. Today, West and East-Central European countries share a common political space - the European Union. This has created a fascinating opportunity for analysis of the similarities and differences between these countries. In this book, Vit Hlousek and Lubomir Kopecek critically apply the party families approach to political parties in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. With chapters devoted to social democrats, greens, the far right and left amongst many others, this book charts the parties origins, ideologies, and international ties alongside their Western European counterparts. By examining the political relevance of different party families, Hlousek and Kopecek are able to assess the validity of this typology in the analysis of the transformation of political parties in this region.

Caretaker Governments in Czech Politics: What to Do about a Government Crisis

Czech politics suffers from a low durability of most of its governments, and frequent government crises. One of the products of this situation has been the phenomenon of caretaker governments. This article analyses why political elites have resorted to this solution, and discusses how this has reflected an older Czech tradition. Two cases of such governments are analysed in detail. The Tošovský government was characterised by the ability of the Czech president to advance his agenda through this government at a time when the party elites were divided. The Fischer government was characterised by the considerably higher role of parties that shaped and limited the agenda of the cabinet, and the president played a more static role.

“I’m Paying, So I Decide” Czech ANO as an Extreme Form of a Business-Firm Party

Business-firm parties founded on the initiative of a political entrepreneur are a phenomenon of growing importance in contemporary party politics. In practice, these are either commercial companies, whose structure is used for a political project, or new and separate organisations constructed on business principles. This article examines the case of Czech party ANO (“YES”), established by the owner of the Agrofert holding company Andrej Babiš. The party achieved remarkable success in the 2013 Czech general election. The opportunity for ANO’s success was provided by strong voter dissatisfaction, reinforced by the scandalous circumstances of the centre-right government’s fall. This context created a fertile ground for the introduction of a new entity espousing anti-party, anti-corruption, and anti-political sentiments. In ANO’s organisation and functioning, a strengthening of certain traits characteristic of this type of parties is apparent. A robust system for screening party members and representatives has been gradually put into place, and human resources–style techniques of psychological testing were employed at the party’s inception. Furthermore, the power in the party has been wholly centralised around the leader, and the party’s territorial structures assigned merely service tasks. ANO has also maximised its electoral-professional orientation. The strengthening of the typical traits of a business-firm party can be explained by reference to the party’s origin in the business environment and the notions entertained by its leader. In many respects, Babiš’s party has brought the organisational model of a business-firm party to its limits.

Different Ways of Institutionalising Entrepreneurial Parties :Czech Public Affairs Party and ANO

This article analyses and compares two Czech entrepreneurial parties, Public Affairs (VV) and ANO. The theoretical framework of the article is the development model of institutionalisation proposed by Robert Harmel and Lars Svasand, which has three phases: identification, organisation and stabilisation. In the paper, the reasons of the failure of Public Affairs and the successful stabilisation of ANO are explained. The main difference was identified in the phase of organisation.

Entrepreneurial Parties: A Basic Conceptual Framework

The paper offers a conceptual framework to investigate phenomenon of entrepreneurial parties in the countries of East-Central Europe. The authors evaluate existing concepts related to increasing interdependence of the party politics and the business sector and offer the minimal conceptualisation of an entrepreneurial party. The minimal conceptualisation is based on the five basic features: (1) the central role of the leader and his private initiative, party as a (2) personal vehicle, (3) crucial formative influence of leader over the political project. Two other features are related to social and institutional un-rootedness of the entrepreneurial party which is neither a product of (4) a promoter/sponsor organisation or social movement, nor it is an outcome of (5) parliamentary split or emergence of a new faction.

How Strong Is the President in Government Formation? A New Classification and the Czech Case

The article deals with the influence of presidents in the government formation process (GFP). The authors propose an original classification of roles of presidents, reflecting real constitutional practice, with five categories based on real presidential influence on the GFP, from the weakest to the strongest: observer, notary, regulator, co-designer, and creator. This classification is applied to Czechia, where the formal constitution gives the president great opportunities to intervene in the GFP. The results of the analysis of all cases of GFP show a significant variety of roles the Czech presidents have played: from notary to creator. Two factors are particularly important. Firstly, the timing of elections proved significant. When the GFP directly followed parliamentary elections, the presidents were weaker. In contrast, if the GFP followed a government break-up during the electoral term of the Chamber of Deputies, presidents were significantly stronger. Secondly, it depends on the real power of parties, that is, their ability to act together as a cohesive parliamentary majority. In most cases, the presidents showed their resolve to play a greater role than a notary, but they often faced a firm parliamentary majority that actually did not allow them to exert greater influence on the GFP. In contrast, the political proximity between the president and parliamentary parties appears difficult to assess, because there has been the public desire of non-partisan or “above-partisan” presidents in Czechia.

Kdo rozhoduje v českých politických stranách? Vzestup nových politických podnikatelů ve srovnávací perspektivě

Clanek se zaměřuje na komparativni analýzu organizace soucasných ceských parlamentnich stran. Důraz je kladen na rozdily ve struktuře a fungovani nových stran, ANO a Usvitu přime demokracie oproti starsim stranam. Teoreticka cast představuje zakladni organizacni typy zejmena koncept business firm party. Nasledně jsou strany srovnany na zakladě organizacnich aspektů: clenstvi, podoby financovani, významu uzemnich organizaci, pozice a složeni vrcholných stranických organů, role lidra strany a medialnich zdrojů. Analýza zjistila, že ANO a Usvit maji oproti starsim stranam velmi exkluzivni clenstvi a podobně existuje velka centralizace moci v rukou lidra strany, ktera ma oporu jak formalni ve stanovach, tak i neformalni. V připadě ANO dale existuje velka dominance uzkeho centralniho vedeni nad nižsimi uzemnimi organizacemi a Usvit dokonce rezignoval na jejich vytvořeni. Chybějici institucionalni zakladna významně ovlivnila destrukci Usvitu. Pro ANO je charakteristicka vysoka mira profesionalizace a kontrola významných medii, což oboji Usvit postrada.

From Parliament to Courtroom Judicial Review of Legislation as a Political Tool in the Czech Republic

The Czech Constitutional Court has gained a strong position within the political system. This article examines the judicial review of legislation from the point of view of the relation between the court and the parliament. The authors analyze trends in the use of petitions proposing the annulment of statutes, who makes use of the petitions, how successful the petitioners are, and what issues the petitions concern. The article pairs a quantitative view with a qualitative analysis of key selected decisions by the court, especially in the sphere of mega-politics. The authors test whether judicial review of legislation serves as a tool for parliamentary opposition. The results show the decisive effects of a legislative majority in the lower house of the parliament. If the government lacks a majority, the use of judicial review of legislation as an oppositional tool fades. Also important is the weakness of the upper house, which makes senators more likely to resort to using judicial review of legislation. An especially crucial factor is the presence of independent and semi-independent senators who, without broader political backing, see judicial review of legislation as a welcome tool. The most frequent topics of the petitions were transitional justice, social policy, and the legislative process.

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

Toto je druha cast clanku, jehož prvni cast byla publikovana v předchozim cisle casopisu. Opozicni smlouva z cervence 1998 dala CSSD možnost zformovat jednobarevnou vladu, přicemž tato strana ziskala garanci obcanských demokratů, že nepodpoři vysloveni nedůvěry vladě. Hlavnim ziskem ODS byly pozice ponejvice v parlamentu, což se vyskytuje i u některých podobných uspořadani v zahranici. Nicmeně ODS neziskala přimou možnost ovlivňovat exekutivu, jako to umožňuje institut ministrů mimo kabinet na Novem Zelandu nebo politických poradců na ministerstvech ve Svedsku. Text Opozicni smlouvy nezahrnoval ustanoveni o programove spolupraci s důležitou výjimkou představy rozsahlých reforem politickeho systemu země, ktera ale nebyla bliže specifikovana. Pravě tento nedostatek přispěl ke konci roku 1999 ke krizi Opozicni smlouvy (zvlastě důležita byla neshoda ohledně reformy volebniho systemu). Spolecně s problemem, jak zajistit schvaleni statniho rozpoctu, to vedlo k nove dohodě obou velkých stran nazvane Tolerancni patent. Tolerancni patent sice na jedne straně výrazně posilil kooperaci CSSD a ODS, ale na druhe straně ani on nevytvořil silně institucionalizovanou dohodu o spolupraci.