I.Why? – Neccessity of Party Programmes II.How? – Elaboration of Party Programmes III. Idendity – The Political Spectrum IV. Examples – Different Political Platforms

Why? I. Why? – Neccessity of Party Programmes Initial Situation: many parties pay little attention to the development of party programmes Reason: parties are mostly identified through their representatives rather than through their programmes

Why? OBJECTIVE Why: The party programme proves whether a party can find solutions to social concerns with political suggestions

Why? What is a Party Programme? = global document presenting long-time ideas and actions (political ambition, basic values, mission for the country in every aspect of society) ≠ electoral programme≠ position papers designed with regard to a specific election political views with regard to certain policies

Why? Importance of Party Programmes  Enabling party members to know and defend the basic party lines in public  Developing a line of communication to the citizens and voters  A political platform can win an election if it represents the majority of the electorate

How? II. How? – Elaboration of Party Programmes

How? Top-Down Approach  = deductive reasoning  starts with the big picture and breaks down from there into smaller segments  Executive makes the decision; lower levels are bound by it pro: efficiency, responsibilities are clearly defined contra: little acceptance of lower level Bottom-Up Approach  = inductive reasoning  starts in great detail and links the elements together to larger sub-levels  Grassroots make the decision; decisions arise from their joint involvement pro: high level of expertise, better feeling of what is needed contra: lack of transparency

How? Elaboration of Party Programmes  Top-Down as well as Bottom-Up Approaches can be used for the Elaboration Process  But: highest number of affiliates should participate in the elaboration of the basic programme or at least give their approval!

Identity III. Identity – The Political Spectrum

Identity

Identity Question What is your political compass? How do you know what you are?

Set of Policies: Economy / Taxes Education and Youth Culture Public Health Transport Sports Employment Social Welfare Environment Energy Climate Change Identity

Environment  As part of creation, man is responsible for nature and the environment; the preservation of the natural environment is an element of responsible freedom  No profiling in the environmental topic Energy  Traditionally primary vote in favor of safe and affordable energy looking at the economic and industrial location

Identity Environment  Generally hesitant to impose environmental restrictions on businesses to favor free trade  National thought: protection of the father- land and its intact environment and home Energy  Energy policy is focused on the concept of autarky and public services regarding the own nation  Domestic energy sources stand therefore in the foreground and are supposed to be reinforced and exploited

Identity Environment  Environmental protection should be regulated by the state  Environment and economy are seen partly as a contrast and partly as an innovative combination serving social development Energy  In favor of an innovative energy policy that does not threaten the industrial base and jobs  Research and development of an alternative energy sector should be encouraged

Identity Environment  Environmental policy is not a central topic  It has become more interesting through economic opportunities and successes such as a growing green-tech industry Energy  The basic principles of energy policy primarily follow the requirements from the perspective of the economy: low-cost, secure, available

Identity Environment  Environmental policy is the trademark and identification profile of the Greens  They are trying to work on all fields against the growing environmental damage Energy  Committed to a rapid transformation of the energy industry to low emission renewable energy options such as solar and wind power, energy efficiency and conservation measures  Strong anti-nuclear movement

Party Programmes emerge out of the identity of a party The identity of a party is particularly the result of its historic background Identity

Examples IV. Examples – Different Political Platforms

Examples

Examples

Examples

Examples

Understanding the importance of developing a party platform in the field of environment and energy Strengthening the political parties capacity to include positions on environment and energy in their platforms

Questions and Answers

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