Programmatic Change in Southern European Radical Left Parties: the impact of a ‘Decade of Crises and Resilience’ (2009–2019)

The 2008 economic crisis brought unexpected electoral success and renewed academic attention to Southern European radical left parties (RLPs). The Greek SYRIZA and the Spanish Podemos quickly became the standard bearers of this increasingly influential party family also at the government level, either through participation in cabinets or by providing parliamentary support (e.g. Iceland, Portugal, Slovenia). But despite the growing scholarship, several important aspects of RLPs remain to be explored empirically. March (2011: 7) showed how their ‘ideological (and strategic) positions differ across [some] countries and regions’. But it is still unclear how their ‘ideological and policy positions’ have changed over time or how new issues have been incorporated programmatically (Gomez et al. 2016: 369). In particular, little is also known about the impact of some important historical episodes – and increasingly salient themes (e.g. climate change) – on the programmatic profile of Southern European RLPs. This question is particularly relevant in the context of Southern European countries, as the past decade – a ‘Decade of Crisis and Resilience’, as the Section CfP postulates – has been fraught with crises and episodes with potential impact on political institutions and actors (including parties). Some authors have assessed this for specific topics such as Euroscepticism (e.g. Lisi 2020; Real-Dato and Sojka 2020), but the nature of the crises and societal challenges posed to RLPs during this decade (austerity, migration, climate change, rise of the far right) raises questions about a broader impact in the programmatic profile of the Southern European radical left, whether for adaptation or merely strategic reasons. This paper seeks to explore this question by empirically analysing the programmatic evolution of Southern European RLPs during the last decade (2009–2019). Using several empirical datasets on party policy positions (e.g. CMP, CHES, Global Party Survey) and a set of party official documents, it seeks to understand the extent to which these parties have changed programmatically during this period, adopted new policy issues into their agenda, and the potential factors that explaining it. By unveiling the impact of the 2010s decade on the policy positions of SRLPs, we also seek to reflect on the challenges posed by the current pandemic crisis on the future profile and strategy of this still very relevant European party family.