The changing electorate and importance of radical left and left-wing populist parties in Southern Europe

Abstract

Radical left parties have been a significant and relevant component of South European party systems throughout the history of these countries. The processes of party change experienced by the radical left since the 1990s diversified, both ideologically and organizationally, this family of parties. The 2008 Great Recession added new features to the decades-long evolution of this party grouping through the creation of new parties and by the adoption by some of them of populist discourses, rhetoric and/or strategies. During this period the electoral base of the radical left and the populist radical left in Southern Europe has very likely changed. The intra-party family competition, the changing party systems and patterns of electoral competition, the immediate impact of the 2008 Great Recession but also its aftermath, the increase in these parties’ relevance, and the electoral expansion of some, but not all, of them, have surely affected the composition of their electorates. Besides that, these years have also transformed the role performed by some of these parties, which have gone from being minor and opposition parties to be in office. The radical left and radical left populist parties have changed and have changed their status. This panel intends to analyse the trajectory of the radical left and left-wing populist parties during these years. We aim to analyse the composition of the electoral base that has supported these parties, the consequences of their intra-family electoral competition and of their electoral competition with other progressive parties (Greens and Social Democrats) on the social coalition that supports these parties, and how all these features have evolved in South European countries. We also aim at analysing the renewed relevance of these parties, their role as government parties and the effects of their incumbency.

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