The Changes In Political Behaviour And Crisis Of Political Parties

Currently, political parties are no longer what they used to be, according to Schmitter, and that has been noted in that voters are no longer as loyal to parties, but instead change their votes depending on what specific interests they defend. Of course, on the spectrum of the political left-right, a voter is less likely to move from one side to the other, but rather to move from voting, for example, from a left-wing party to another that is also, but more radical / moderate, depending on its program, so a party should be considered in crisis if its voters are unable to locate themselves at a point on the political spectrum, following the ideology from the extreme left, going from the left and the center to the right and Finally, the opposite point, the extreme right. It can be said that political parties have entered a new era, where bipartisanship is almost abandoned, for the benefit of other newer political parties, for this, the old ones must know how to respond with quick responses to the other parties in order to gain support. popular, to demonstrate their ability to adapt to new situations, and prevent their voters from escaping to newer parties. In addition, in recent years, new party membership and affiliations have been decreasing considerably, so political parties must seek to expand and encompass various, not very concise spectrums, as they have now changed their behaviour to respond to needs. of the modern voter, who sometimes does not feel really represented to maximize the votes.

Crotty, however, says this cannot be called a crisis, as it is more like a party assessment line so that it does not detract from voter engagement. Currently, bipartisanship or so-called ‘mass parties’ are highly unlikely to re-dominate the political scene.

Nowadays, political parties have changed the way they act, now they focus on short-term objectives, adding to this strategy communication through social networks, using social networks to give an image of closeness and to try to get closer to the voter younger and make your message more widely heard globally. An important point of all this is that the current voter is not interested in politics, has a great mistrust regarding the parties and the participation in the polls and low politics, perhaps due to the tension that the voter feels when not being represented . However, it is unlikely that participation does not exist since the citizen tends to fulfil the role of aggregation, as Webb exposes.

These new changes do not mean a crisis within the structures of the political parties, but only that the relationship of the party-voter has been transforming over time. There are many opinions about political parties, but in general and despite the discontent with them and with politicians, people tend to know that they are necessary to govern, although on many occasions citizens take an active part in politics through associations, NGOs, organizations, etc.

However, the well-known anarchists, contrary to Hobbes’s theory and his well-known phrase “man is a wolf to man”, defend that political parties are only parasites of society, corrupt companies and little necessary, because society is It would regulate alone and human beings would know how to behave with no one to govern themselves, affirming that the government and political parties only rob citizens. Curiously, the liberals defend a point similar to this, that taxes are thefts from the government towards the citizens.

Contrary to these opinions, we have the defense of political parties, although many people have shown their discontent at some point (such as the 15-M movement, which showed its disagreement with current politics, in the end those people ended up forming a political party to change things), in this way, society shows its support for political parties, but is critical with its failures and much more aware of politics.