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European Democratic Governance and the Elites The European Elite System and the EU Governance. Luca Verzichelli Master GIRP, EM-TAM Academic year 2017-2018. A crisis of Elites in Europe? A ttachment and satisfaction with democracy indicators.
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European Democratic Governance and the Elites The European Elite System and the EU Governance Luca Verzichelli Master GIRP, EM-TAM Academicyear 2017-2018
A crisis of Elites in Europe? Attachment and satisfaction with democracy indicators • First time after 1957 attachment to Europe declines and, at the same time, trust in domestic institutions decreases • European institutions weaker and weaker • Failure of “Supranational Surveillance” • Failure or limits of technocratic governments • Increase of populist approach to politics • Increase of neo-national solutions
Responsiveness or responsibility? I Peter Mair (Ruling the void, 2013) Pre-crisis elements of change • Age of party democracy has passed • But what possible new configuration for parliamentary democracies? • Focus on Europe: classic parliamentary democracy in crisis? • Indifference and citizens disengagement • The withdrawal of elites: long term negative trend of party membership and inward-looking attitudes of the rulers
Responsiveness or responsibility? II After the crisis: • Non responsible elites tend to stress their nature of alternative actors, maximising responsiveness to anti-political stances • Responsible actors (from other elites and technocrats) tend to substitute responsive parties, but they cannot count on long-standing consensus • As a result: new polarization (European integration cleavage?) between responsible and responsible
EU after the crisis: fractured polity and fractious politics (Laffan 2017) • Multiple crises determined an acceleration of delegitimation of political institutions and political elite within the EU area • Continuous stress tests for the European economies. • Very difficult times for the governments of member states • Implications • Adaptations of the EU governance are not sufficient • Economic policies should be re-tuned • Lack of leadership
The European elite systemPeculiar case or failure? (Cotta 2012) A number of differentactors from differentpolitylevels. Notclearsense of «responsibility» at the EU level • Progressive adapation • An institutional inertia factor • An increasingly fragmented scenario of actors and demands • The constraints of consensus. • The compoundness factor.