ABSTRACT
How can ‘claims’ be made by actors operating within centralised parties on the party elites? An affirmative answer begins with an analysis of patterns of internal opposition within four centralised parties, namely, the Danish Social Democratic Party (1978-79), the Norwegian Centre Party (1989-90), the Italian Communist Party (1976-79) and the French Communist Party (1988-91). The analysis of each case begins with a brief discussion of the position of the party leader within the party and organisational trend which affected the leadership position during the period under investigation,1 the background for the coalition agreement and the decisive preferences underlying it. I hope to show that, in the cases observed, whereas intra-elite opposition adopted the ‘exit’ option as well as the ‘voice’ mode within party bodies, followers’ hostility tends to adopt the ‘voice’ mode outside the party. Attention now turns to the case of the Danish Social Democratic Party.
