137a-U5aPartyGoals

8/10/2019 137a-U5aPartyGoals

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UNIT 5: WHAT DOPARTIES WANT?Reading:

Mueller and Strom pgs. 1-27


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Guiding Questions

What is party government?

What do parties want?

What are vote seeking goals? Officeseeking? Policy seeking?

Can parties maximize all three goals?


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Political Parties and Government

Political science suggests that political parties a

central role in promoting and maintaining

democracy.

Schattschneider 1942 modern democracy is unthinkable save in terms of

political parties

Muller and Strom 1999

In a democracy, voters delegate policy-making

authority to representatives via political parties.


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What Is Party Government?

We can conceive of democracy as partygovernment

Katz 1986; Katz 1987

1) Parties organize policy-making Government decisions made by party leaders.

Government policy decided within political parties.

Parties act cohesively to enact policy.

2) Parties serve as intermediaries between voters

and government. Elections seen as mechanisms to ensure party

accountability.

3) Parties recruit political leadership.

Most elected officials are affiliated with a party.


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What Do Parties Seek?

Mueller and Strom 1999

Three strategies are typically offered.

Parties as:

1) Office-seekers

2) Policy-seekers

3) Vote-seekers.

These are ideal type strategies.Most parties seek more than one end.


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Factors Shaping Party Options

Mueller and Strom 1999

Party behavior is shaped by a variety of factors:

1) Party leadership and organization Motivations of the leadership (political entrepreneurs)

Relationship between leadership and party activists

2) Political institutional structures Electoral/legislative laws

Laws governing coalition formation

3) Political context General elections/economic circumstances

Number of parties at the bargaining table


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Office Seeking Models

Riker 1962

Parties seek to maximize their control over thebenefits associated with taking office.

Benefits include: cabinet portfolios, politicalappointments, etc.

Parties share power only when necessary.

Votes and policy viewed as instrumental to

obtaining office (i.e. a means to an end), not asintrinsically valuable.


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Policy Seeking Models

De Swaan 1973

Parties seek to maximize their impact on policy.

Political parties have policy platforms that they seek to

enact once in office.

When parties coalesce, they will do so with

parties that have similar policy outlooks.

Policy can be considered as intrinsicallyvaluable or as instrumental to other goals (e.g.

office).


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Vote Seeking Models

Downs 1957

Parties seek to maximize their vote share.

Parties use policy manifestoes to win votes, not for

policy endsper se.

Parties maximize votes even when they are

assured of a majority.

Votes are instrumental and not intrinsicallyvaluable in and of themselves.


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Election 2005: Merkels Dilemma

Majority = 308

No party could govern

alone.

Schroeder and Merkelboth made claims on the

chancellorship.

Merkel was given first

crack at forming acoalition.

Her party held the most

seats.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Angela_Merkel_Joh.jpg


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Election 2005: Merkels Dilemma Merkels preferred policy

coalition (yellow-black):

FDP/CDU/CSU = 287 seats

21 short.

Schroeders preferred policy

coalition (red-green): SPD/B90GR = 273

35 short.

PDS/Left was not an option.

Both sides needed to woo

another party. Attention turned to the

B90Gr and FDP.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Die_Linke.PDS_logo.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Greens-Logo_ne4.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Spd-logo.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:FDP_logo.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CSU-Logo2.jpeghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CDU_logo.svg


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Election 2005: Merkels Dilemma

From an office seekingstandpoint, addingB90/Gr (i.e. a Jamaicacoalition) would giveMerkel 338 seats.

Rejected by the Greenparty on policygrounds.

Adding the FDP to theSPD/B90/Gr (i.e. traffic

light coalition) would giveSchroeder 334 seats.

But this was rejectedby the FDP on policygrounds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:FDP_logo.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Spd-logo.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Greens-Logo_ne4.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Greens-Logo_ne4.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CSU-Logo2.jpeghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CDU_logo.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:FDP_logo.png


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Election 2005: Merkels Dilemma Polls showed Germans didnot want another election.

Merkel agrees to form agrand coalition with the SPD.

Coalition was strained by:

1) conservative socialpolicy advocated by theCSU

2) center left economicpolicy favored by the SPD

3) desire for economicreform by members of theCDU.

SPD entered 2009 electionspushing for a return of thegrand coalition.

CDU wanted to end it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Spd-logo.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CSU-Logo2.jpeghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CDU_logo.svg


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Election 2009: The Aftermath

CDU vote declined slightlyBeing in government can sometimes come at an electoral cost.

Voters punished the SPD

Worst performance in the postwar eraVoters rewarded the FDP, the Greens, and the Left

All opposition parties fared well.

Government formed by the CDU/CSU and the FDP.Merkel was seeking a yellow-black coalition rather thananother grand coalition

Left-76 G/B90-68 SPD-146 FDP-93 CDU-194 CSU-45
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SPD_logo.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Greens-Logo_Germany.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Die_Linke.PDS_logo.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:FDP_logo.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CSU_logo.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CDU_logo.svg


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Conclusions: Party Goals

Goals are not mutually exclusive. Parties may attempt to maximize one (e.g. votes) to obtain

another (e.g. policy or office).

But parties must also make tradeoffs.

Pursuing one type of goal can hinder theattainment of other goals.

Office seeking strategies may risk a rebellionamongst party activists.

Policy seeking strategies may please activists butharm a partys ability to win votes within the largerelectorate.

Vote seeking strategies may impinge on a partyspolicy-seeking goals if they water them down to

appeal to the larger electorate.


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Next Unit

Theme: Parties and Votes

Reading:

Ware CH 11Mueller and Strom pgs. 112-140

Game: Elections

Documents

137a-U5aPartyGoals