1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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.