What’s left of the left in Central and Eastern Europe? Struggles and successes in times of crisis

This paper aims to assess the status of the political ‘left’ in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) from the years of the EU accession up to 2014, looking in particular at the effects of the economic crisis on the political landscape of CEE. The aim of this study is to analyse the specific features of the centre-left in CEE as opposed to the other focal/major political blocs by looking at their political offer, governmental participation and the emergence of challenger parties/movements. This research contributes to the study of the general structure of political competition in CEE, covering six countries that have joined the EU between 2004 and 2007. The study is divided in two parts. The first part explores the characteristics of left and centre-left parties in CEE in the general context and their performances over time. The results would then be confronted with the broader effects of the economic crisis, by looking mainly at the impact of governmental participation and the relationship with societal actors and the emergence of new contenders. The second part will build on the findings of the previous one and analyses more in depth the effects of the crisis in CEE and the left. More specifically, the research looks at how in Central and Eastern Europe several left and centre-left parties faced a crisis without giving way to a diffuse presence of strong social movements or new political actors capable to capitalise on the failure of the old parties, or on the relatively large popular support.