Suchergebnisse

Over the past two decades, a growing number of 'outsider parties' have entered governing centre-left and centre-right coalitions across Western Europe. In this introduction, we first define outsider parties as those which — even when their vote-share would have enabled it — have gone through a period of not being 'coalitionable', whether of their own volition or that of other parties in the system. Based on the articles in this issue, we then discuss the problems which outsider parties encounter when entering government and suggest some reasons for the success and failure of these parties in office. Finally, we propose a number of avenues for further research, in particular that of examining differences between the first and subsequent experiences of office for such parties.

Of all populist movements in Europe, Italy's Lega Nord can perhaps lay claim to the greatest political success. The party has been in government three times, including for eight of the last 11 years, and has held several key ministries in coalition govern¬ments led by Silvio Berlusconi. It is a party with a clear ideology, emphasising tough limits on immigration, greater northern autonomy, and characterising Muslims and Islam as representing a fundamental threat to the values and cul¬tural integrity of northern Italians. This report presents the results of a survey of Facebook fans of the Lega Nord. It includes data on who they are, what they think, and what motivates them to shift from virtual to real-world activism. It also compares them to supporters of similar parties in Western Europe, shedding light on their growing online support, and the relationship between online and offline activities. ; -- Acknowledgments -- A note on terminology -- Executive summary -- Background -- Who are the Lega Nord's Facebook supporters? -- Social and political concerns -- Why do people support the Lega Nord online? -- Annex: methodology -- Notes -- References

Since 1994, Italian politics has seen a number of coalitions including parties whose identity has been strongly based on their 'outsider' status as uncompromising opposition movements which would not previously consider government participation. This article examines the contrasting experiences in office of two such parties: the regionalist populist Lega Nord (LN) and the radical left Rifondazione Comunista (RC). While the Lega confounded expectations not only simply by remaining in the centre-right coalition from 2001 to 2006, but by influencing policy, increasing its vote-share and maintaining its 'outsider' identity, RC was unable to match its fellow outsider's success when it served in the centre-left government from 2006 to 2008. Looking at the experiences in office of the RC and the LN in terms of the three temporal divisions 'before', 'during' and 'after', this article seeks to analyse and explain the differing experiences and effects of government on both parties.