European History, 1945-90

Europe in 1970

Governing Coalitions and Political Parties of West Europe, 1945-1988:

Contemporary Context:

Definitions:

Obviously, trying to shoehorn every political faction of 16 countries across 45 years into four narrow categories ("left", "right", "both" and "neither") is a daunting task. Specific issues vary from country to country, so national parties coalesce or collapse based on local alliances and problems; however, the nations of West Europe haved shared a common religious, economic and philosophic heritage long enough for local differences to erode, and local parties have often evolved convergently. In fact, it's probably no coincidence that the two principle parties in many European states take their names from Socialism and Christianity, two deep-rooted and extremely evangelical philosophies which deliberately transcend narrow nationalism in favor of a larger community of believers.

Just for the record, these are the customary differences between Left and Right:

To one extent or another, the Left believes, supports, promotes (or does not entirely oppose) ...
- Public regulation or ownership of vital commerce and industry in order to benefit society.
- The government's duty to help people.
- Separation of church and state.
- Legal, social or economic equality of all people regardless of race, religion, sex, language, or conditions of birth.
- The philosphy of Robin Hood: "Rob from the rich to give to the poor"
- The workers' priority over the owners.
- Sexual freedom. To each his own.
- A diverse, yet cooperative, society.
- Peace, humanitarianism and international brotherhood.
To one extent or another, the Right believes, supports, promotes (or does not entirely oppose) ...
- Letting businessmen run commerce and industry without troublesome interference.
- Letting individuals sink or swim according to the choices they make.
- A government which promotes traditional religious values, often in alliance with an established church.
- Legal, social or economic privilege as a reward for responsible citizenship, birthright, morality, or economic success.
- The philosphy of Robert Heinlein: "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."
- The owners' priority over the workers.
- Sexual orthodoxy. Keeping it zipped except to make babies.
- A competitive, yet orderly, society.
- Strength, social stability and patriotism.

Of course, most people would probably consider all these principles to be good in moderation and bad in excess -- which explains why we have politics. It gives the collective community a chance to adjust the balance between contradictory virtues.

One further note: The dividing line between left and right is always relative, and each nation splits wherever the 50:50 line falls in local public opinion. Worldwide standards, however, are often quite different. Thus, in a nation like Italy, the principle parties might appear to an outsider as parties of the Left, the Far Left, the Really Far Left, and the Really Really Far Left. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of the USA represents the left wing of American politics, but by world standards, it's a party of the Center-Right, and probably farther right than most Christian Democrats.

Tough calls and various anomalies:

Most of these countries are model parliamentary governments where the Head of State (the monarch or president) is a ceremonial figurehead, and administrative policy decisions fall to the Head of Government (a prime minister representing the leading faction of the legislature). Therefore, it should be noted that whenever the Heads of State and Government are of different parties, I have illustrated the party of Government, not State. Even in France (probably the only country on this map with a strong president) during the years 1986-88 when the president and premier were of different parties, I have mapped the party of the premier.

The political parties in Ireland, the youngest of the West European states, are still extremely local in issues and orientation, and they don't quite fit the left/right mold. Neither of the two leading parties seems to have aligned itself against the other based on the above checklist of principles.

Switzerland, the oldest European democracy, leaves most policy decisions either to the citizenry as a whole, or to the individual cantons. Swiss political parties seem to exist as a mere formality, and positions in the national government are allocated according to an agreed ratio (the "magic formula" devised in 1959) rather than by competitive elections.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union interfered in the politics of two former enemies:

In Austria, the Soviets continued to occupy their assigned zone until 1955, inhibiting the development of electoral politics. As one of the conditions of withdrawing, the Soviets insisted on absolute, perpetual neutrality, which explains why Austria was one of the few West European nations to stay out of NATO.
The Soviets also asserted a right of veto over the government of Finland, and they refused to allow the popular Social Democrats to take a place in government until 1966. This made it difficult for the Finns to form a stable regime, leading to 25 different cabinets between 1945 and 1966.

Aside from the overtly authoritarian regimes of the Mediterranean, democracy was only threatened twice on the map

In 1948, an attempted coup by Finnish Communists was beaten back, which spared Finland from being incorporated into the Soviet satellite system
In 1958, a decade of unstable coalition governments (the Fourth Republic) combined with divisive, draining colonial wars had brought France to the brink of chaos. General de Gaulle was given emergency powers and ruled by decree until the crisis was brought under control and a new constitution (the Fifth Republic) could be devised and implented.

Recomended Reading: Walter Laquer, Europe Since Hitler : The Rebirth of Europe (1982)

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Last Updated March 2000