Alternative actions

All elements that would lead to the search for alternative means of action, an important characteristic of the current political field. Petitions, neighbourhood committees, citizens’ juries, referendums, as was recently the case in Namur regarding the building of a shopping centre in Parc Léopold, or earlier on, in the effort to push Liège as the 2015 capital of culture... Attempts, which are generally organised at a local level, to make the voices at the ‘bottom’ heard. “Mobilising thirty people to prevent the construction of a motorway is easier than fighting against global warming or the war in Iraq, even if major public demonstrations have already been organised for these types of causes, especially in London”.  

Like the ‘indignados’ movement, which spread like wildfire in 2011, starting in Madrid and reaching Wall Street in New York, as well as Athens, Brussels and Paris. Furthermore, the internet can become a sounding board for these unconventional political practices. Not a day goes by without countless petitions appearing online. The new technologies seem to have “given them new sociological and institutional effectiveness”, the six lecturers point out in the last chapter of their book dedicated to citizens. They quote the example of a petition signed in 2009 by 93,000 people following Jean Sarkozy’s nomination as head of Epad, the development agency for La Défense. The son of the former French president, who was still in power at the time, backtracked, which was considered as one of the first victories of e-democracy.

Excess negotiations

Politicians aren't always pleased with this rise in alternative democracy, which they often consider as a waste of time. “A good deal of political work consists of elaborating decisions by negotiating with the majority, the opposition... When an agreement is reached after long discussions, it isn’t always well received when a citizens’ movement contests the decision”, Jérôme Jamin points out. “But, at the end of the day, it’s a question of habit. Take Switzerland: traditional politics based on the parties works in parallel with a system of direct democracy through voting.”   

To counter the crisis of legitimacy which has struck them, the parties have begun a race for the centre. The greater their disrepute, the more they must endeavour to limit the mass exodus of voters. “By pandering to the centre as much as possible”, the political analyst from Liège adds. “Initially, the parties appear to lean towards the left or the right to reassure the militants. Then, they temper their position to convince those who are undecided.” A strategy that is particularly visible in the case of Syriza, the coalition of the radical left now in power in Greece, which spoke very harshly about Europe during the first part of the electoral campaign.  It then softened its tone as it neared polling day, reasserting, for instance, that it didn't wish to leave the eurozone.

The example of Syriza also illustrates another recent political development: the resurgence of left-right divisions. “Undoubtedly since the 2008 financial crisis”, Jérôme Jamin says. “The level of inequality in society has become unbearable in many countries. So being for or against the fact of paying more taxes, redistributing wealth, having more social housing, limiting unemployment benefit, etc., means something once again.”

An even more fertile breeding ground for extreme parties. “Or, in any case, sufficiently alternative”. On the left and on the right. The FN in France, Podemos in Spain, Syriza in Greece, the Five Star Movement in Italy… Not forgetting the N-VA, which has become the leading party in Flanders in little more than 10 years, or the PTB in Wallonia. “The Socialist Party could well be completely torn apart tomorrow by the development of the MR and CDH on the one hand, and by the rise of the PTB on the other. In the Socialist Party, this risk of spending time in the wilderness isn’t just a hypothesis”.  

Any means seem good to reject the traditional parties, emphasise disarray, and demand change. Undoubtedly a sign that the link between citizens and politics is certainly stretched, but not broken. And it can be strengthened. After all, disenchantment is better than indifference.