European political party

One of the most famous European political parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany & Friedrich Merz

European political parties are political parties within a specific European nation-state that seek to influence government policy, appoint political leaders, and win elections; they are the fundamental mechanism of bourgeois democracy. While they operate within the framework of the European Union (EU), their jurisdiction, legal status, and electoral base are all national. As opposed to Europarties, which are unions of transnational European parties. These political parties present programmes and policies they claim represent the national interest; in reality, they mediate the interests of the ruling class.

These parties exist within the European Union, an environment in which national parties pursue the economic and political interests of their domestic bourgeoisie; conflicts between national parties within the EU reflect the inter-imperialist rivalry within the imperial core. In essence, national political parties are the political instruments through which ruling-class interests are pursued in each state.

Unlike the United States and the United Kingdom, most European parties use proportional representation instead of the “first past the post” system, which works by giving the party with the most votes control over the entire constituency. This system leads to a two-party system, which we can observe in the U.S., as people feel pressured to vote for one of the two major parties so as not to waste their votes. It is one of the oldest bourgeois democratic systems, but proportional representation is an alternative, though still flawed, system used by most EU countries.

It is typically glorified by liberals who recognize the flaws in the “first past the post” system. It functions by dividing the constituency according to the percentage of votes each party receives; this creates coalitions of parties with similar views, each exercising varying levels of influence within the constituency. This system does allow more radical parties to gain representation comparatively, though communist parties are often excluded. Compared to the FPP system, it does not inevitably create a two-party system.

To decide once every few years which members of the ruling class is to repress and crush the people through parliament — this is the real essence of bourgeois parliamentarism, not only in parliamentary- constitutional monarchies, but also in the most democratic republics.

— Vladimir Lenin, The State and Revolution

Recurring party types.

Conservative parties - are reactionaries who seek to maintain the existing property, social, and state relations, often representing big business and the petty bourgeoisie. Their politics are centered on defending the status quo and typically rely on nationalist and religious appeals to achieve this.

Social-democratic parties - originally rooted in labor movements, today maintain the capitalist status quo through austerity, welfare policies, and compromise with the bourgeoisie. It is through privatizations and labour-market “reforms” that they achieve this. In its modern form, it can be viewed as a stabilizing force for capitalism.

Liberal parties - serve finance capital and market integration, typically framing neoliberal policies as the only logical way to run a government. They are primarily known as promoters of EU reforms, deregulation, international capital flows, and foreign investment.

Green parties - revolve around ecological and environmental policies, though they often also address socio-liberal issues. Most Green parties accommodate the capitalist structure. They typically compromise with militarism, uphold existing class relations and austerity, and lack any actionable plan to tackle the environmental crisis, as doing so would require dismantling the current state.

Far-right parties - use xenophobia and chauvinist nationalism to channel public discontent during capitalist crises by dividing the working class along national and ethnic lines, scapegoating immigrants, and preparing the ground for militarism and repression. Their growth stems from the failure of the bourgeois left to provide a solution to capitalism in crisis.