Let’s Keep It Fresh: Linking Electoral Manifesto Cohesion to Re-Election Success of Entrepreneurial Parties in Central Europe

Over the past decade, an unparalleled shift in party systems could be seen in most European countries, especially in post-communist countries in Central Europe, with a plethora of new political parties and movements coming to power. A signifi cant portion of them has been established by political entrepreneurs, who promised the electorate to fi ght corruption and bureaucracy, challenge the self-interested political elites, and bring well-being to the whole country. Oft en refusing to define themselves as left or right, these political parties question the traditional programmatic division, not adhering to any discernible ideology. Although the research revolving around new political parties tends to focus primarily on their initial success, the article investigates the newcomer entrepreneurial parties re-election success in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia. Through detailed qualitative analysis, it examines how shifts in electoral manifestos and visual campaign materials, such as billboards, influence the repeated success of these parties after their initial breakthrough. With the support of additional quantitative data, I confi rm the initial suspicion, that for an entrepreneurial party, correctly reflecting the mood of the target electorate and accordingly adjusting the programme and the campaign is crucial and takes precedent over developing a consistent, cohesive ideological framework.