Plus Ça Change?

Oxford University Press eBooks, pp. 388–404

Abstract

Abstract This chapter discusses the legal regulation of political parties in Portugal since the democratic transition in 1974 until the present day. We provide an overview of the legal parameters and changes over time in three key types of laws: the national constitution, party laws, and party finance laws. Our analysis shows that Portugal stands out in a relatively high level of party regulation compared to other European democracies, and also that political parties have been granted a privileged position in legal terms, a benefit that has generally been reinforced following various legislative revisions. In addition, we find that party regulation in Portugal tends to have a clear partisan character, either responding to the interests of the particular party in power or protecting the interests of the ‘insiders’ (PSD, PS, and CDS/PP) vis-à-vis the ‘outsiders’ (PCP and BE).

Authors 2

1. Ingrid van Biezen Aachen Comparative Politics

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Comparative Politics, University of Leiden, Netherlands

2. Fernando Casal Bértoa

   University of Nottingham

   Affiliation as printed

   Politics, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom