The European Parliament Elections and Czech Political Parties: Much Ado About Nothing?

Authors

  • Ondřej Mocek Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic
  • Martin Petlach Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic
  • Zuzana Hudečková Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic

Keywords:

Czechia, European Union, European Parliament elections, Election programs, Political parties, Euroscepticism

Abstract

The paper inquires divergences in electoral programs of four Czech political parties (the ČSSD, KDU-ČSL, KSČM, and the ODS) as delivered for all the previous European Parliament elections. The aim of this study is to compare the use of national and European themes as delineated in programs. It is assumed that, in many cases, the programs contain topics and aspects which are specific and valid for elections on the national level instead. Thus, the paper elaborates on one of the characteristics of the second-order elections theory as exemplified in the Euro-elections. Results of the analysis showed a significant superiority of national affairs over the European issues in the examined samples. Although the number of political parties varies in individual periods, the study has also confirmed the assumption drawn from the theory of second-order elections. Therefore, political parties utilize political programs for the European Parliament elections as of national interest with domestic affairs, not European. Furthermore, the study considers dissimilarities among political parties in positive and negative attitudes toward the EU. Hence, sundry approaches to European affairs may be identified across the Czech political parties.

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SCRUTINIZED ELECTION PROGRAMS

ČSSD’s EP election program (2004). Obtained from the ČSSD’s Archive via: <archiv@socdem.cz>.
ČSSD’s EP election program (2009). [online]. Available at: <http://www.evropskezpravy.cz/soubory/dokumenty/cssd-jistota-ep2009-917.pdf>. [Accessed 3 March 2017].
ČSSD’s EP election program (2014). [online]. Available at: <http://www.cssd.cz/data/files/manifest.pdf>. [Accessed 3 March 2017].
ČSSD’s EP election program (2019). [online]. Available at: <https://www.cssd.cz/data/files/volby-do-ep-argumentar.pdf>. [Accessed 24 March 2020].
KDU-ČSL’s EP election program (2004). [online]. Available at: <http://preview.kdu.cz/Dokumenty/Volby/2004/Volby-do-Evropskeho-parlamentu/2004/Evropsky-volebni-program-KDU---CSL.aspx>. [Accessed 3 March 2017].
KDU- ČSL’s EP election program (2009). [online]. Available at: <http://www.roithova.cz/soubory/Volebni_program_KDU-CSL_do_EP_2009-2014.pdf?fid=1241961694>. [Accessed 3 March 2017].
KDU-ČSL’s EP election program (2014). [online]. Available at: <http://www.volbydoep.cz/getmedia/b2402746-09d9-4fef-956f-aaff11b92712/Europrogram_KDU_2014.pdf.aspx>. [Accessed 3 March 2017].
KDU-ČSL’s EP election program (2019). [online]. Available at: <https://www.kdu.cz/aktualne/ruzne/program-kdu-csl-pro-volby-do-evropskeho-parlamentu#2>. [Accessed 24 March 2020].
KSČM’s EP election program (2004). [online]. Available at: <https://www.kscm.cz/nasestrana/kscm-a-volby-dokumenty/volby-2004/evropsky-parlament/28372>. [Accessed 3 March 2017].
KSČM’s EP election program (2009). [online]. Available at: <https://www.kscm.cz/volby-a-akce/volby-do-ep-2009/volebni-program>. [Accessed 3 March 2017].
KSČM’s EP election program (2014). [online]. Available at: <https://www.kscm.cz/volby-a-akce/evropsky-parlament2/program>. [Accessed 3 March 2017].
KSČM’s EP election program (2019). [online]. Available at: <http://www.nenechmetotak.cz/katalog-obrazku/clanek-68/527-kscm-volebni-program.pdf>. [Accessed 24 March 2020].
ODS’s EP election program (2004). [online]. Available at: <http://www.ods.cz/docs/programy/program_2004e.pdf>. [Accessed 3 March 2017].
ODS’s EP election program (2009). [online]. Available at: <http://www.ods.cz/docs/programy/program_2009ep.pdf>. [Accessed 3 March 2017].
ODS’s EP election program (2014). [online]. Available at: <http://www.ods.cz/docs/programy/program-volbyEP2014.pdf>. [Accessed 3 March 2017].
ODS’s EP election program (2019). [online]. Available at: <http://zahradil.cz/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ODS_program_final.pdf>. [Accessed 24 March 2020].

Published

2020-04-15

How to Cite

Mocek, O., Petlach, M. and Hudečková, Z. (2020) “The European Parliament Elections and Czech Political Parties: Much Ado About Nothing?”, Slovak Journal of Political Sciences, 20(1). Available at: https://sjps.fsvucm.sk/index.php/sjps/article/view/122 (Accessed: 10 October 2024).