Welfare and labour market conflicts have made it increasingly difficult for Europe’s centre-left parties to survive as ‘catch all’ movements

Mainstream centre-left parties in Europe have traditionally relied on broad appeals to a wide section of the electorate. As Michael McTernan argues, however, this model of ‘catch all’ centre-left parties has increasingly come under strain due to the emergence of a diverse range of interests in modern European states. Centre-left parties must now balance competing interests, such as between young voters and the elderly, or between public and private sector workers. He writes that with society becoming more heterogeneous, the era of large centre-left parties capable of governing alone may be coming to an end.