“The major parties of the Federal Republic of Germany provide better models of the ‘catch-all party’ (Kirchheimer) than do those of the French Fifth Republic and post-war Italy.” Discuss

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The Post war period was characterized by move towards spreading secular and mass consumer-goods societies. This note is valid in the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Fifth Republic, and post-war Italy. This major turn in societies had to be understood by political parties and translated in changes in their organizations and ideologies. Older party types such as the old-style bourgeois party of individual representation became the exception. While some species continue to survive, they do not determinate the nature of the party system any longer. Another classical type of party, the mass integration party, product of an age with harder class lines and more sharply protruding denominational structures, was also likely to evolve , in order to suits more the evolution of societies. Kirchheimer contrasts the catch-all party with the mass party model . The catch all party ‘abandoned attempts at the intellectual and moral encadrement of the working class, turning more fully to the electorate scene in an effort ‘to exchange effectiveness in depth for a wider audience and immediate electoral success. The narrower political task and the electoral goals of the catch-all party differ sharply from the all embracing concerns of the mass party; today the latter is seen as counter-productive since they deter segments of a potential ‘nation-wide clientele'2. The catch-all parties in Europe appear at a time of de-ideologization which has substantially contributed to their rise and spread. De-ideologization in the political field involves the transfer of ideology from partnership in a clearly visible political goal structure into one of many sufficient but by no means necessary motivational forces operative in the voters' choice . Kirchheimer held the mainstream parties German parties, to be particularly good examples of ‘catch-all' parties.

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[...] The party has never relied on a mass membership base, which has permitted it to see its newly built-up catch-all party image not to be obscured by the role of the individual party member which is often considered as a historical relic[6]. Relying on the ethos of social responsibility and a commitment to the market economy, the CDU was so successful that the SPD too was forced to transform itself from being a ‘class party' of the workers into a cross- class people's party or Volkspartei4. [...]

[...] While the UNR has dominated the French political scene throughout the 1960's by pitching its appeal above narrow partisan claims and looking rather to national issues to attract a wide base of support[9], it never led to the foundation of another so-called ‘catch all party' in the opposition. In Italy too, the dominance for nearly five decades of the apparently ‘catch-all' Christian Democrats (the DCI) has not fostered the emergence of an alternative catch-all party. Moreover, one should emphasize the fact that De Gaulle's UNR was far from being ideologically neutral. Behind a nationalist posture, and despite a broad cross-class appeal, the UNR clearly implemented a conservative policy which led to events of May 1968. [...]

[...] Bibliography Otto Kirchheimer, Catch-All Party”, in Peter Mair The West European Party System, (McGraw Hill, 1990). Peter Humphreys, Comparative European Politics, Course Guide, (University of Manchester, 2006). Peter Humpreys, Comparative European Politics, Revision Note (2006-2007). Yves Mény and Andrew Knapp, Governments and Politics in Western Europe, (Oxford University Press, 1998). Laurent Douzou, Histoire de la France Contemporaine, course notes, (IEP de Lyon, 2005). Nabil Wakim, “Sarkozy se pose à la fois en rassembleur et en champion de la droite” , www.lemonde.fr, (14/01/2007) Otto Kirchheimer, Catch-All Party”, in Peter Mair The West European Party System, (McGraw Hill, 1990), p52. [...]

[...] major parties of the Federal Republic of Germany provide better models of the ‘catch-all party' (Kirchheimer) than do those of the French Fifth Republic and post-war Italy.” Discuss The Post war period was characterized by move towards spreading secular and mass consumer-goods societies. This note is valid in the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Fifth Republic, and post-war Italy. This major turn in societies had to be understood by political parties and translated in changes in their organizations and ideologies. [...]

[...] To what extent can we account for the fact that German parties are more ‘catch- all' than the French and Italian ones? Before explaining in a Kirchheimian's perspective that the Federal Republic of Germany provides actually better models of catch-all parties, I will attempt to show that France and Italy also possesses some different ‘catch all' characteristics proper to their respective political system. The CDU and SPD, unequalled models of catch-all parties in Kirchheimer's perspective The CDU appeared to be the first European party which fitted in Kirchheimer's ‘catch-all' party model. [...]