“Not the way we do things around here”: explaining the limits on (radical) party politics in local government

As local governments in Europe have gained increasingly substantial policy-making powers, the question of how much policy influence is exerted by (radical) parties at this level has become more urgent. Emerging research has shown that ideological concerns and policy-seeking strategies are indeed relevant in local party politics, challenging the common conception of local politics as simply centred on valence issues and pragmatic policy delivery. However, amidst a continuing neglect of the topic, the factors that determine when (and where) ‘parties matter’ in this arena remain unclear. Here we show that the relevance of party politics in local government actually varies cross-nationally, and argue that this variation in politicization is rooted in firmly embedded perceptions of the appropriate role of local government. To do so we conduct a comparative analysis of cases of local governments in Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland led by populist radical right parties: ‘most-likely’ cases for a strongly ideological form of local politics. First, we show the varying degree of politicization in the electoral and parliamentary arenas, through qualitative and quantitative analysis of electoral manifestos, social media posts, council meeting records, and policy outcomes. Second, we explain the extent of politicization through the perceptions of local political actors of the (ideal and actual) function of local government, as revealed through semi-structured interviews. The extent to which they perceive local government to be an appropriate arena for party politics is shown to be rooted in several nationally-specific institutional factors. Our findings make an empirical contribution by mapping the limits placed on party politics at the local level across various European countries, and make a theoretical contribution by showing these limits to be institutionally determined and firmly embedded within local cultural practices. Ultimately, this paper provides a number of hypotheses for future comparative studies regarding the roles played by political parties in local politics, across both the electoral and parliamentary arenas.