Marion Reiser & Everhard Holtmann 
Farewell to the Party Model? 
Independent Local Lists in East and West European Countries

Marion Reiser, Everhard Holtmann Local independent lists as political actors are a common phenomenon on the local level in many European countries – in established Western democracies as well as in the ‘new’ democracies in Central and Eastern Europe. In some West European countries, these non-partisan groups have been an established and stable element in the local political system for decades. Ty- cally, they understand themselves as protectors of a harmonious factual political style. In their opinion, good local politics is not compatible with party politics so they consequently perceive themselves as non-parties. During the last two d- ades, presence and success of local lists have steadily increased in these co- tries. Furthermore, during the last years local lists emerged also in countries which had been formerly fully party-politicised on the local level. Explanations offered for these developments are often based on the observation of a general decline of trust in established parties and politicians. Hence, it has been argued that the disenchantment with political parties is a fertile ground for local lists. For the Central and East European countries, this argument can be – ployed only to a certain extent. Local lists established themselves in the early 1990’s as important actors on the local level especially due to a lack of party organisation in the process of democratic consolidation.

Table of Content

Local Lists in Europe.- Local Lists in East and Central European Countries.- Local Lists in the Czech Republic.- Independent Local Lists in Croatia: In Search for a Composite Theoretical Frame.- Local and National Parties in Hungary.- Citizen Electoral Alliances in Estonia: Citizen Democracy versus Cartel Parties.- Non-party Lists in Local Election in Poland.- A bridging case?.- Independent Local Lists in East and West Germany.- Local Lists in West European Countries.- Local Political Parties in the Netherlands: Anomaly or Prototype?.- All Politics is Local, Partisan or National? Local Lists in Belgium.- Local Parties in Sweden.- Independent Lists in Norwegian Local Politics.- Independents and Citizen’s Groups in Portuguese Municipalities.- Multi-Party Politics in England: Small Parties, Independents, and Political Associations in English Local Politics.- Conclusion.- Conclusion: Independent Local Lists in East and West European Countries.

About the author

Reiser, Marion, Dr., is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Political Science at the Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg.
Holtmann, Everhard, Dr., is Professor of Political Science at the Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg.