Parliamentary cabinets are supposed to be collective bodies, taking their decisions on the basis of agreements among all the members. Yet much has been made of the growth of the role of prime ministers, not just in Britain, but all over western Europe. Much has also been made of the trend towards letting cabinet decisions be taken by committees or even by individual ministers. It is indeed true that twenty men and women, meeting only a few hours a week, cannot take all the decisions of the State. These are the issues which this study examines, on the basis of the replies of over 400 cabinet...

By the late 1990s Green parties had entered national governments in five Western European countries - Finland, Italy, Germany, France and Belgium.This book analyzes the performance of Green parties in these five governments by answering the following questions: what are the political conditions under which Green parties have gained effective office? How do Green parties behave in government? What is the impact of Green parties on the policy performance of the national government? What is the effect of government participation on the electoral and organizational stability of the Greens?

The scope and intensity of the challenges currently faced by western European political parties is exceptionally large, threatening the viability of the manner in which they have traditionally operated and causing them to seek new behaviours and strategies. This volume brings together some of the foremost scholars of European party politics, whose evaluation of political parties in 'the new Europe' is organised under four broad headings: Parties as Corporate Actors; Parties and Society; Parties and the State and Parties Beyond the Nation State. Each contributor not only provides a concise,...