Czeck to Poland: Have New Wave of Democracy Mobilized Parties to Triumph against its National Oppositional Leaders?

 

 

Czeck's Surprise Victory over Strongmen turns out celebratory reaction from the crowd.

 

 

Czech Strongman’s Upset Loss Shows Populists’ Vulnerability turns out the country’s oppositional parties that gathered to join, unite, and drive out a leader poor for the country’s democracy.  The New York Times article also mentions Hungary and Poland’s ousting of national leaders that have balked the democratic process. 

 

 

The final wave of democratizations ensued during the last decade of the 20^th century which incurred dramatic political change towards democracy.  Most significant change took place in Soviet Union, Central Europe, Eastern Europe where countries tried to triple transform their party system, constitutional structure, and economic systems.  Democratized nations in Eastern Europe are filled with traces of socialist past. 

 

 

What has been the outcome?  Mixed.  Some moved towards party politics and free markets.  Greece and Hungary, for example, developed a withy trading links with European Union and actively cultivated support for EU membership.  Others stuck to reformed Communist parties where change occurred slowly.  A shift towards democracy from formerly authoritarian regime has turned out across the globe.  Greece, Spain, and Portugal, for example, have collapsed their former authoritarian regime and are now part of the EU and are part of the fully functioning democratic system.  End of apartheid in South Africa have ensued their first fully democratic election.  The growing establishment of democracy has spread out to South America (Argentina and Brazil) to Asia (Philippines and South Korea), and to Africa (Mali, Zambia).  Wave of democratizations arises as a global trend. 

 

 

Past waves of democracy have been followed by reaction “reverse waves.”  Unforeseen obstacles may lie for countries that were formerly authoritarian or continuing as fresh, restored democratic country.  Latin America’s early growth of democracy was followed by repressive military regime in country after country.  Growth of democracy in early 20^th century gives way to Stalin and Mussolini.  Decolonized Asia and Africa bore authoritarian regimes than functioning democracies. 

 

 

Elections are the central institution for democratic governance.  Elections also reflect the shape, way, and form democracy in many ways.  Democracies are divided into 2 categories:  Consensual and Majoritarian.  Majoritarian democracies concentrate greater power in the hands of electoral majority.  U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden, Portugal, Spain are some examples of majoritarian democracy.  Hungary, Poland, and Czeck Republic are shaped under a coalition.  They fall under consensual democracies shaped by coalitions that otherwise limit or constrain the powers of the winning party or candidate.     

 

 

Czeck prevail against the populist.  Babis on the right.  

Distributions of seats at higher tiers vary across the globe.  Czech Republic runs theirs by pooling at the higher level of remainders from local districts. Higher tiers have unallocated seats in each districts followed by division by quota which are grouped and distributed among parties on the basis of collected remainders from each district.  Advantageous for smaller parties, it allows them to offset the wastage effected and produced by the dispersion of their vote in local districts.

 

 

Higher thresholds are imposed on coalitions.  Poland has natural threshold of 7% for national seats.  All other countries require 5% or less of national regional vote.  Central and Eastern Europe are divided between the presidential system with direct elections (Russia and Ukraine) and one in which where legislature selects the president (Hungary and Czeck Republic). 

 

 

Hungary’s system combines 176 members elected by majority in single member districts with 152 members elected by straight PR d’Hondt in 20 regional districts rectified by supplying 58 national seats to be distributed by PR on the basis of votes cast for candidates overcome at 2 other levels.   

 

 

Poland had series of relatively unstable coalition government during the period following the 1991 elections.  New elections thereafter bored more decisive results in part because of changes in the electoral laws that eliminate many smaller parties.  It is no surprise that even today its own political leader would pare down on the democratic process. 

 

 

Democracy is not a lasting, tipping state but an evolving course.  Few people follow the news accounts of politics and government regularly and only a small number in each country talk about politics.  Most individual citizens are not “good citizens.”  On the other hand, democratic process may not be workable if every person were to be active on all issues.  After the Weimar Republic broke down, concerns on effects of extra surplus of participation ensued.   Democratic ways change, open, and evolve. 

 

 

Scholars believe that the model citizen is “not the active citizen; he is potentially the active citizen.”  People must believe that they can influence the government and must be willing to make an effort if the issue holds grave weight.  Yet, few will gain this potential.  For Eastern European countries like Czeck Republic, Hungary, and Poland, the small parties united to prevail against leaders that have repressed their citizen’s and the country’s democracy.