Editing Party system (section)

=== Europe ===

Democratic party systems in most [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe|European states]] have increasingly fragmented over time. That means that the number of relevant parties surged, while the average size declined. Hence, the [[effective number of parties]] increased.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Schminke |first1=Tobias Gerhard |title=Fragmentation: The Animal Party-isation of European Party Systems |url=https://europeelects.eu/2022/03/07/fragmentation |access-date=15 March 2022 |publisher=Europe Elects |date=7 March 2022}}</ref>

==== European Union ====
The [[European Parliament]] has compared to other parliaments a higher number of political parties with 206, to reduce [[political fragmentation]] the parties are organized into 7 [[political groups]]. Two structures of party system have been identified in the [[European Parliament]] since its first [[universal suffrage|universal]] direct election in 1979, albeit the main EU party groups remained the same:<ref>Simon Hix, "A supranational party system and the legitimacy of the European Union", ''The International Spectator'', 4/2002, pp. 50–59</ref>
* 1979–1994: a system split in two blocs on the left/right dimension, with the left bloc ([[Party of European Socialists|Socialists]], [[Communist and Allies Group|Communists]] and [[European Green Party|Greens]]) opposing a right bloc ([[European People's Party (European Parliament group)|Christian democrats]], [[Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe|Liberals]] and [[European Democratic Union|Gaullists]])
* 1994-onwards: a system in which the three central parties (the conservative [[European People's Party|EPP]], the socialist [[Party of European Socialists|PES]] and the liberal [[Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group|ALDE]]) have voted as much with each other as with their smaller allies, thus 'governing' the system, and facing different oppositions from the left ([[Party of the European Left|European Left]] and [[European Green Party|Greens]] and leftist [[euroskeptic|eurosceptic]]s) and from the right ([[European Democratic Union|Gaullists]], rightist [[euroskeptic|eurosceptic]]s and [[Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe|nationalists]]).

==== Italy ====
Italian party systems are usually considered only since the foundation of the [[Italian Republic]] (1946) as pre-[[fascist]] parties lacked a wide popular base.

The party system of the so-called ''First Republic'' (1948–1994), though based on a proportional electoral law, saw the dominance of the [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democracy]] (DC) and the ''conventio ad excludendum'' against the [[Italian Communist Party]] (PCI). DC and PCI together gathered around 85% of the votes on average. The system was thus a blocked bipolar system; governments were very short (in average lasting less than one year) and post-electoral, but the supporting parties and personnel could not change.
With time, some parties (especially the [[Italian Socialist Party]], PSI) gained momentum, until reaching the role of government-making in the 1980s. The system was completely destroyed by the bribery scandals of [[Tangentopoli]], which shattered DC and PSI.
According to [[Sartori]], the two possible degenerations of [[proportionalism]] (fragmentation and lack of party discipline) were reduced by two factors: the strong role of parties ("''partitocrazia''") and the polarization between Christian-democrats and communists. Therefore, the ''first republic'' saw a maximum level of 5 effective parties, with only one dominant party.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Legge elettorale che cosa fare – Corriere della Sera|url=https://www.corriere.it/editoriali/10_novembre_07/sartori-che-fare_602ef5ea-ea47-11df-acba-00144f02aabc.shtml|access-date=2021-02-26|website=www.corriere.it}}</ref>

The so-called ''Second Republic'' party system (since 1994) bears the following characteristic marks:
* a majoritarian electoral law, introduced by referendum in 1993, which brought about a bi-polarization of the game (although limited by the 1/4 of votes still gathered proportionally)
* the birth of {{Lang|it|[[Forza Italia]]|italic=no}} as personal party of [[Silvio Berlusconi]], with a strong polarization effect
* the rise of new parties (the environmentalists [[Federation of the Greens|Verdi]] and the autonomist [[Lega Nord]] since the late 1980s, [[Alleanza Nazionale]] through a reform of the post-fascist [[Italian Social Movement]])
* the split of old parties (between reformed post-communist [[Democratic Party of the Left]] and neo-communists of [[Rifondazione Comunista]]; between left-wing and right-wing of old Christian Democrats and Socialists, siding with or against Berlusconi)
Though more fragmented in the number of parties, the system was bipolar in its functioning. With time, both sides saw a strengthening of coalitions (even if with ups and downs) and the birth of unified parties (the [[Ulivo]] federation and then the [[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]] on the left, and the [[People of Freedom]] party on the right side).
The change in the electoral law in 2005 and the return to proportionality (although with a majority premium able to transform, in the lower chamber, the plurality in a 55% majority) did not bring about a return to collusion, while still leaving such prospect open for the future.

==== Germany ====
{{update section|date=June 2024}}
The 2009 Bundestag election in Germany was characterized by widespread public apathy and record low voter turnout.  Weldon and Nüsser (2010) argue that it solidified a new stable, but fluid five-party system that they see as a defining feature of the emerging German political system. The three minor parties each achieved historical bests at the polls with steep losses for the two traditional Volksparteien.  They report that the increased volatility and fluidity of the party system is structured along the left-right ideological spectrum with the parties divided into two major camps and vote-switching much more likely within the respective camps rather than between them.<ref>Steven Weldon and Andrea Nüsser, "Bundestag Election 2009: Solidifying the Five Party System", ''German Politics and Society'', 9/30/2010, Vol. 28 Issue 3, pp. 47–64</ref>

The 2009 election also marked a devastating defeat for the SPD, leading some commentators to speculate about the end of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (SPD) as a "catch-all party" and, against the backdrop of recent poor performance of center-left parties all across Europe—perhaps even "the end of social democracy".<ref>William E. Paterson, and James Sloam, "The SPD and the Debacle of the 2009 German Federal Election: An Opportunity for Renewal", ''German Politics and Society'', 9/30/2010, Vol. 28 Issue 3, pp. 65–81</ref>

The 2013 election saw the first time that the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) that had been represented in parliament since 1949 and formed part of government as a coalition partner to either SPD or CDU (Christian Democratic Union, the major conservative / center-right party) for almost all of the period from 1949 to 1998 and again from 2009 to 2013 fell below the 5% threshold for parliamentary representation. The same election also saw the rise of the "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) party that ran on an anti-Euro platform and failed to enter parliament on their first federal election just barely with 4.8% of the vote.

After this election the second [[grand coalition]] between CDU and SPD since 2005 was formed. Prior to that Germany had only had one grand coalition that governed from 1966 to 1969, typically coalitions of one big and one small party at the federal level were used instead in a two-and-a-half party arrangement. Whether this shift proves temporary or permanent remains yet to be seen

==== Central and Eastern Europe ====
Four party systems have been identified in post-communist countries of Central-Eastern Europe:<ref>Agh (1998) and Oppelland (2003), as quoted by Schmitt and Thomassed, "The EU Party System after Eastern Enlargement", ''Political Science Series'' #105, ''Institute for Advanced Studies'', Vienna, 2005</ref>
* I system (late 1980s – early 1990s): dominated by the opposition between communists and anti-communists, i.e. from supporters and opponents of the old regime; spontaneous mass movements formed on idealistic bases and transformed into 'umbrella parties'
* II system (early 1990s): opposition between winners and losers of the economic transition to a [[market economy]]. Anti-communist parties split and formed unstable coalition governments. Many parties, with a narrow political base, grew up
* III system (late 1990s): the social conflicts of market transition aggravated, and [[social-democratic]] post-communist parties took over. The party system concentrated, while electoral volatility was extremely high
* IV system (2000s): rise of a relatively stable and modestly concentrated party system, organized on a left-right dimension, including post-communist parties. Fragmentation did not rise again after the fall of many social-democratic parties from government.

==== Finland ====
[[History of Finland|Finland]] was a Grand Duchy controlled by Russia until 1918. Nationalistic demands from the peasants and workers for greater use of the Finnish language led to the first political party: the Finnish Party in 1860. In response, the Swedish-speaking aristocracy, landowners and businessmen formed their own political party. Thus emerged the first party system.<ref>Alan Siaroff, "Democratic Breakdown and Democratic Stability: A Comparison of Interwar Estonia and Finland", ''Canadian Journal of Political Science'' Vol. 32, No. 1 (Mar., 1999), pp. 103–124 [109],  {{jstor|3232774}}</ref>

==== Greece ====
Following the collapse of the military dictatorship in 1974, the centre right [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] and centre left [[PASOK]] came to dominate the Greek party system. PASOK and New Democracy had a combined vote share of 80 percent or more in every election between 1981 and 2000.<ref>Takis S. Pappas Ph.D. Candidate (2003) The transformation of the Greek party system since 1951, West European Politics, 26:2, 90–114 [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01402380512331341121]</ref>
Following the 2008 recession and the ensuing [[Greek government-debt crisis|sovereign debt crisis]] in the country, the populist left [[Syriza]] came to challenge the dominance of PASOK and New Democracy, increasing its vote share in every election from 2009 until eventually winning power in 2015.<ref>Stavrakakis, Y. (2015), "Populism in power: Syriza's challenge to Europe". ''Juncture'', 21: 273–280. {{doi|10.1111/j.2050-5876.2015.00817.x}} </ref>