Death of the Dinosaurs? Organisational Resilience and the Survival of Older Mainstream Parties in Czechia

Abstract

This article examines how organisational strength, leadership change and strategy enable traditional parties in postcommunist Central Europe to survive political and electoral crisis and new party challengers and unexpectedly re-emerge as nationally competitive actors. Case studies of two Czech parties, the Civic Democratic Party (Občanská demokratická strana—ODS) and the People’s Party (Křesťanská a demokratická unie–Československá strana lidová—KDU-ČSL), suggest that partial recovery can be achieved by a ‘crisis leader’ who manages risks through strategies of limited reform, focused on mobilising core members and voters in local politics and other second-order venues. The final part discusses how the two parties’ participation in the anti-populist SPOLU alliance superseded their earlier anti-crisis strategies.