Luca Verzichelli Master GIRP, EM-TAM Academic year 2017-2018 European Democratic Governance and the Elites The European Elite System and the EU Governance Luca Verzichelli Master GIRP, EM-TAM Academic year 2017-2018

A crisis of Elites in Europe A crisis of Elites in Europe? Attachment and satisfaction with democracy indicators First time after 1957 attachment to Europe declines and, at the same time, trust in domestic institutions decreases European institutions weaker and weaker Failure of “Supranational Surveillance” Failure or limits of technocratic governments Increase of populist approach to politics Increase of neo-national solutions

Responsiveness or responsibility? I Peter Mair (Ruling the void, 2013) Pre-crisis elements of change Age of party democracy has passed But what possible new configuration for parliamentary democracies? Focus on Europe: classic parliamentary democracy in crisis? Indifference and citizens disengagement The withdrawal of elites: long term negative trend of party membership and inward-looking attitudes of the rulers

Responsiveness or responsibility? II After the crisis: Non responsible elites tend to stress their nature of alternative actors, maximising responsiveness to anti-political stances Responsible actors (from other elites and technocrats) tend to substitute responsive parties, but they cannot count on long-standing consensus As a result: new polarization (European integration cleavage?) between responsible and responsible

EU after the crisis: fractured polity and fractious politics (Laffan 2017) Multiple crises determined an acceleration of delegitimation of political institutions and political elite within the EU area Continuous stress tests for the European economies. Very difficult times for the governments of member states Implications Adaptations of the EU governance are not sufficient Economic policies should be re-tuned Lack of leadership

The European elite system Peculiar case or failure? (Cotta 2012) A number of different actors from different polity levels. Not clear sense of «responsibility» at the EU level Progressive adapation An institutional inertia factor An increasingly fragmented scenario of actors and demands The constraints of consensus. The compoundness factor.