THE CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY: DOWNFALL AND RESILIENCE AS REFLECTED BY THE ROMANIAN (PSD) AND DUTCH (PVDA) CENTER-LEFT

Abstract

After 2010, the European Socialist political family experienced a profound crisis that also had a notable impact on civil societies. Voices from the academic field argued that the response of the Social Democratic cabinets to the economic downturn of that period was the main reason behind the downfall. However, its roots run deeper in recent history. Some parties crossed this turmoil unscathed, and others rebounded quickly, proving their resilience. What are the main causes of this decline? Why were some parties able to move beyond it while others never recovered? The present paper tries to shape some answers to these questions by focusing on the evolution in the last 10 years of two members of the Party of European Socialists (PES): the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA). Our conclusions emphasize the main factors that are relevant to our topic, highlighting that ideology still influences contemporary political fields and civil societies.