PARTIAL CONSOLIDATION OF THE EAST-CENTRAL-EUROPEAN PARTIES - THE CASE OF THE HUNGARIAN SOCIALIST-PARTY

The Hungarian party system is stable and only moderately fragmented. The Hungarian Socialist Party, the largest party after the 1994 elections in the Hungarian parliament, shows some features that illustrate partial consolidation of the east-central European parties, since these features can also be observed in some other (Polish and Czech) parties. The Hungarian Socialist Party has a rather large national organization and disciplined membership, with a relatively firm relationship to some social strata (intelligentsia, professionals and white-collar workers, on the one hand, and some working-class groups on the other). Its electoral victory and its role as the major partner in the incumbent coalition, however, have created some new problems for the party, but most probably even under this pressure of high expectations it can maintain its relative consolidation.