Do we need political parties? Is the existence of political parties necessary and essential for democracy? What is the function of political parties? Do we have to finance political parties?
The local elections to be held in Serbia on June 2, 2024, will be the 61st elections since the establishment of the multi-party parliamentary system.
In the previous parliamentary elections in 2022, political parties spent a total of 1,168,088,991.45 dinars according to reports submitted to the Anti-Corruption Agency. That year, political parties and other political entities generated income of 1,086,404,093.25 dinars during the election campaign, of which 80.50% came from the budget. Last year, political parties generated income of 1,764,193,845.35 dinars for regular operations and spent 1,357,743,102.86 dinars, 88.26% of which came from public funds, i.e., from the taxpayers of Serbia.
It is clear that political parties are a costly investment for the citizens of Serbia, but do we need them?
According to Article 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, political parties are guaranteed and recognized a role in the democratic formation of the will of the citizens, and according to Article 2 of the Law on Political Parties, a political party is an organization of citizens freely and voluntarily united to achieve goals through the democratic shaping of the political will of citizens and participation in elections. The question arises, do the citizens of Serbia need someone to shape their political will? Perhaps the citizens are mature enough to shape their political will on their own, especially considering that every year the shaping of the political will of Serbian citizens costs around 2 billion dinars and in an election year around 4 billion dinars.
However, political parties exist all over the world and are firmly linked to democracy in the modern world. Is that really the case?
The first written records of democracy indicate that democracy originated in Athens 2,500 years ago. The first Parliament was established in the 13th century in England when the Magna Carta Libertatum established the Council of 25 barons. Democracy existed during the Middle Ages in places like the Venetian Republic, the Dubrovnik Republic, the Republic of Geneva, the Republic of Genoa, and even the Pope is elected by the Papal Curia.
The first political parties appeared in the 18th century in Great Britain and were called the Whigs and the Tories. Before them, political parties did not exist as a phenomenon. This means that the first democratic society existed 2200 years before the emergence of political parties, the first parliament 500 years before the emergence of political parties, and the French Revolution was carried out without political parties.
Therefore, political parties are not a prerequisite for democracy, nor is their existence necessary for democracy itself.
The civil society that Serbia aspires to aims to meet the needs of all its citizens as much as possible. Special attention is paid to those members of society who cannot take care of themselves. However, when it comes to children’s needs, all extracurricular activities (football, folklore, foreign language…) are paid for by parents out of their own pockets. Now let’s return to the question of why we finance political parties. As Professor Zoran Stoiljković points out, “without a solidly filled treasury, the influence of political parties cannot be stabilized. Maintaining the party machinery – covering the costs of party premises, regular party activities and communication with the public, and compensations, no matter how modest, for the work of the party apparatus and officials requires substantial financial resources.”
The result is that citizens, instead of folklore, football, and foreign languages for their children, finance adults who are capable of working to engage in politics.
It is clear that financing political parties represents a significant sacrifice for the citizens of Serbia, leading to the abandonment of many other needs.
Let’s see what the result of this sacrifice is. Imagine the following situation: elections are held, a political party wins and takes power, and it has 30,000 official positions at its disposal for all significant and less significant managerial positions in the country. It also has at its disposal all public and public utility companies and public works, and most importantly, it has the budget and all the natural resources of the Republic of Serbia at its disposal. The victorious political party treats this wealth as spoils. First, it appoints its members to all significant, well-paid positions in the country. Then, it employs other members it could not place in significant positions in public and public utility companies. Furthermore, it arranges tenders for companies whose owners are party members or people close to the party leadership, and finally, it manages the budget, public land, and state resources without consulting the citizens.
Is all this worth it for the citizens of Serbia?
What would happen if political parties were financed solely through membership fees?
There is no engaging in politics without a full treasury. Political parties would still need to have premises to hold member meetings and conduct political marketing, with the only source of financing being the membership fees of their members.
This situation would fundamentally change the functioning concept of political parties in Serbia. The focus of power in the party would shift from the leadership to the membership. Members, aware of their power, would demand the fulfillment of their political goals from the leadership. This redistribution of power would lead to the formation of factions within parties, which would democratically compete for power. In this case, the presidents of political parties would represent the true democratic majority within the party.
Due to budget financing in Serbia, a political elite has formed, consisting of leading figures in political parties who have bureaucratized the parties and completely detached from the party membership. Confident that party activities will be financed, they are not ready to make any concessions to party members.
Unfortunately, although the intentions were good, budget financing of political parties in Serbia has led to the formation of authoritarian political parties that fight for power to grab resources rather than to democratically manage the state for the benefit of citizens.
All this implies that if we cannot influence the morals and ethics of people involved in politics in Serbia, we can decide not to finance their activities.