Since the 1990s one can observe political change in most representative democracies around the world. This change is particularly noticeable in many democracies that are characterized by parliamentary systems where multi-party systems and coalition governments prevail. As Table 1.1 shows, the level of electoral volatility has increased in Western Europe (WE) (4.2 per cent), but not so in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) (–1.5 per cent).1 Together with the almost universal limited drop in electoral participation (–7.9 per cent) this development is considered to highlight a diminishing faith of the public ‘democratic politics’ (e.g. Dalton and Wattenberg 2002; Gunther et al. 2002; Mair 2002). This lack of trust in ‘politics’ is further enhanced by the fact that across the ‘new’ Europe trust in parties, governments and parliaments are lower than ever (Scheuer 2005). In addition, lower levels of popular satisfaction with the behaviour of parties go hand in hand with a growing dissatisfaction with policy performance, in particular regarding the economy and the welfare state. In short: political legitimacy of party governance is becoming less across Europe. The reasons for this sea change are contested, but the fact remains that established parties in particular appear to have lost their solid position in many party systems (Keman and Pennings 2006; Mair 2008) Remarkably, though, this does not hold for their position as party of government: in many multi-party systems the established parties are (still) calling the shots in terms of coalition formation and able to bring about majorities to govern (on average 55 per cent for WE and 52 per cent for CEE). Admittedly, in a number of cases other – often new – parties have

entered coalitions representing shifting directions of the party system. For example green or radical left parties have gained access or supported government (Germany, Finland, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy and the Czech Republic; see also: MüllerRommel and Poguntke 2002). In a number of cases, also, parties of the so-called radical Right have been in government or in support (Austria, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania; see also: Deschouwer 2008). Yet, all in all, the established mainstream parties in both parts of Europe have been able to remain in control of the coalitions, although there are some differences between CEE and WE. The ‘Rate of Government Survival’, measured by the proportional duration of government compared to its maximum legislative term, is clearly higher in WE than in CEE. This finding is supported by the data for the ‘Reason of Termination’, meaning that regular elections (and sometimes anticipated ones) are the modal reason for change of government in WE. The mode scores 1.9 for WE and 2.5 for CEE. However, to some extent a paradox is emerging: less electoral stability and more party system change has not been conducive to

similar changes in the composition of representative party government particularly where coalition formation is required (Keman 2011a). Following the ‘logic’ of democratic representation one would have expected a change in government composition as well. Yet, the coalition game is apparently played differently in order to prevent this from happening: electoral losses did not signify a corresponding loss of governmental powers of the established parties. Hence, we see a gap in representational quality in most representative democracies of the ‘new’ Europe. In this chapter we will describe and explain the emerging incongruence between electoral change and party representation in party government all over Europe. We shall do so by reporting the changes for WE and CEE separately for the obvious reason that it cannot be expected that the political dynamics are the same. In WE we hold that the contextual change has affected the established position of the mainstream parties, whereas in CEE parties had to establish themselves after the (re)introduction of parliamentary democracies and to develop ‘best’ practices to form government. This chapter is structured as follows: first, we will discuss the overall changes that have characterized the political context in which party governments have operated in the last two decades. Second, we will analyse the patterns of party governance and related features regarding their composition and life cycle. Third, we move to the way governments are organized and inspect their political and policy direction. Finally, we return to the question of how representative party government is in policy terms and whether or not this affects its stability and legitimacy in the ‘new’ Europe. We turn first to the contextual changes in Europe.