Introduction. The electoral gains of new populism in recent years has initiated debate in public and academic circles about its real and potential threat to traditional and

The electoral gains of new populism in recent years has initiated debate in public and academic circles about its real and potential threat to traditional and established politics. Moreover, its experience of office has exacerbated these concerns and if anything suggested its durability as a political force. Using a framework by which potentially governing parties (the cartel) maybe interpreted, it becomes evident that while not so much presenting a drastic threat to democracy, new populism’s success has revised the qualities of governmental status and forced a new and seemingly permanent divide in elite politics, separating the legitimate from the illegitimate.

The most recent contribution in understanding parties has been Katz and Mair’s (1995) ‘cartel party model’ which suggests parties can become detached from society and yet survive, maybe even prosper’ (Hopkin, 2003: 2). Verification of the rational and reflexive approach that governs the decision making process in office and vote seeking party organisations, it illustrates how traditional parties have, on an individual and party system level, met and dealt with their political vulnerability and threatened position of dominance in the electoral and parliamentary arenas. In a bid to insulate themselves against their losses, established parties developed an organisational profile emphasising the professionalism of party, strengthening it in public office at the expense of its organisations on the ground (Katz and Mair, 1995). Secondly, they capitalised upon their dislocation from the electorate, rather than addressing it, they chose to make use of the increased availability of state funding and embed themselves within state structures concentrating their efforts on excluding newcomers and creating a relatively stable status quo, converging on terms upon which they had previously competed (Katz and Mair, 1995). However, a revitalisation of the centre - periphery cleavage (Tursan, 1998), and the development of new, and new populist politics, the latter accompanied with a resurgence of neo-fascism (Taggart, 2000: 74), has threatened both the position and practice of traditional and established politics. This is particularly the case regarding new populist parties which have increased their share of the vote in a number of countries in western Europe to such an extent they have entered the cartel, and in some cases national government as well, blurring the divide between legitimate and illegitimate parties and creating a new distinction in elite politics: establishment status.

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