Czech and Italian Challengers' Survival Comparative Analysis of Party Organisation and Leadership of FI, FdI, ANO and SPD Parties

Abstract

Our paper explores the organisational and leadership strategies of new anti-establishment parties in Czechia and Italy. The electorally volatile party systems in the countries of Central-Eastern and Southern Europe are associated with the constant emergence of new parties. Czech and Italian party systems are great examples of this phenomenon. Whilst many newcomers make electoral breakthroughs, only some outlive their initial electoral success. Organisational survival and the role of party leaders often precede the parliamentary survival of these parties. We compare the organisational and leadership strategies of four such parties. Our case studies include Forward Italy/Forza Italia (FI), YES2011/ANO2011 (ANO), Brothers of Italy/Fratelli d'Italia (FdI) and Freedom and Direct Democracy/Svoboda a přímá demokracie (SPD). All four emerged running on the anti-establishment ticket. Simultaneously to being formed as anti-establishment challengers, the former two are considered the pioneers of entrepreneurial parties. The latter two, represent the most successful far-right parties in their respective countries. Analysing their statutes and organisational affairs, we explore the internal decision-making and positions of party leaders. Leader's decision-making capacity, interventions to the autonomy of territorial structures, and parties' policy towards membership form the basis of our comparative analysis. It allows us to determine what they have in common in regards to the studied variables, and if these play any role in their survival. Centralised hierarchy combined with a strong position of party leaders are expected to influence it. The similarity between the studied cases helps to empirically test these expectations.