The role of political parties in finding democratic answers to contemporary political challenges

1. The role of political parties in finding democratic answers to contemporary political challenges Workshop animated with a contribution by Andreas Gross (Switzerland) (Political Scientist, MP, PACE) Info@andigross.chwww.andigross.ch at the CoE / Duma - “Forum for the Future of Democracy”about « The Role of Political Parties in the Building of Democracy» Moscow, October 18th 2006

2. One expression of the current banalisation of democracy is the regression of political parties to power machines • Many today don’t look for engaged citizens as active members anymore, but just for : • fans (uncritical followers) • sponsors • voters • future power holders

3. Today - the classical duties political parties have to fulfill are more necessary than ever -in all parts of Europe • Places of regular deliberations in order to find political orientation and influence • Opportunities for (mutual) political education • Places to elaborate political programs • Links between representatives and members and electors: Both have to listen to criticism, hopes, needs, disappointments and alternative propositions

4. By doing this they are (would be) (again) essential parts of an improved democratic processes • Legitimacy of political decisions • Understanding of political situations and social realities • Social and political learning • Inspiring and designing policy change in time and substance

5. In a country with a strong and healthy democracy the main parties have active sections in every bigger village and town • There one listens, speaks, thinks, exchanges experiences, alternative propositions and hopes with each other • Formulates interests and tries to transform them into concepts, programs and practical suggestions for parliaments and governments or common collective actions • Officials have to defend their actions, non-actions, shortcomings

6. Nobody knows what “the general interest” and “the public cause” is:That ‘s why we need different partys who try to formulate them based on different philosophical believes • Parties are places where different people with different philosophical convictions, interests and perspectives try to formulate how they understand the General Interest and the Public Cause and • where they try to find others who share their views in order to • organise together political power

7. In a democracy you are alone powerless - to develop your potential power you have to organize yourself with likeminded men and women • Alone you may politically despair • If you want to change something you have to find likeminded citizens • You have to act together in order to make a change and a difference • In doing so you are free - passively and by trying to consume it, you can’t act and you can’t be free

8. The more a party on all levels is marked not only by professionals but also “ordinary citizens”, the stronger the party and representative Democracy are • The more ordinary citizens are, the more they bring the experiences of “daily life” into politics • The better citizens can speak, express their needs and observations, the more all others, especially officials may learn

9. In a democracy the life of and in a party is the expression of how lively and practical the really existing democracy in the state and the society is • Reforms, changes, and transformations of the society may start and find their expressions in the quality of the life of a party • The better a party gets the more it works as a “collective intellectual” (AG)

10. Pan-European Design elements of many “modern parties” which undermine the legitimacy representative Democracy • Centralisation • Personalisation • Professionalism • Expertokratisation • Etatisation • Hierarchysation • Overcrowding of the political centre • Difficult to show a real pragmatic difference

11. (Neg.) Expressions of the decline of democracy in states dominated by such parties • Decline in Party’s memberships • Citizens find NGO‘s and associations more attractive • Increasing distance between institutional politics and citizens • Feelings of political frustrations and anti-party-resentments • Increasing Demagogy and Populism

12. In old democracies with a hegemony of private economy media and the market try to substitute political parties - in new democracies they contribute to have to built them up • Media are primarily business oriented • They favour conflicts and persons over deliberations, background and ideas • Markets are not able to express all needs and in a suffiently rapid way

13. In order to restore representative Democracy political party’s first have to restore themselves • Back to the better roots under new (partially also better ) historical circumstances • New interface between individual and collective group (Representative/Represented; Society/State) • Intellectual policy Laboratory of deliberation,acting and developing • Open workshops for interested citizens