A bloc party in politics may refer to a political party that is a constituent member of an electoral bloc. However, this term also has a more specific meaning, referring to non-ruling but legal political parties in an authoritarian or totalitarian regime as auxiliary parties and members of a ruling coalition, differing such governments from a pure one-party state, although such parties are not considered opposition parties or alternative sources of power. Sometimes, bloc party is called a satellite party.
Background
The concept has its roots in the Popular front idea where Marxist and non-Marxist political parties and other organisations would belong in an umbrella organisation. Following the end of World War II, elections were held in areas already under Soviet influence who would become members of the Eastern Bloc, while giving voters choice, would be seen as a step towards a totalitarian, Communist-led regime. Bloc parties were able to retain their non-Marxist orientation, but in practice were always subordinate to the ruling Communist party, and all legal parties and civic organisations were required to be members of the official coalition. Elections were not competitive as the composition of legislatures was generally pre-determined. Parties only occasionally dissented from the line of the ruling party. Some parties were pre-existing, others had been newly formed, to appeal to specific sectors of society. However, during the fall of Communism, many hitherto subordinate bloc parties would begin to assert their independence and play a role in the democratisation process, while others would be unable to continue functioning either due to a loss of guaranteed yet artificial representation, or due to the stigma of being associated with subservience to the Communists, and would either dissolve or fade into obscurity.
Bloc parties under Communist regimes
, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Bulgaria operated bloc party systems where non-Marxist parties were constituent members of an official coalition. A similar system operates in China today.
The 1946 elections saw only parties of the National Front, dominated by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, take part. However, elections were competitive, with the Communists and Social Democrats prevailing in the Czech lands, and the anti-Communist Democratic Party winning a comfortable majority in Slovakia. In 1948, however, the Communists seized power and non-Marxist parties were made subordinate to the Communists. During the Velvet revolution, the parties became more assertive in pressuring for change, and transformed themselves for democratic politics. The Christian democratic Czechoslovak People's Party remains a player in Czech parliamentary politics.
Poland
The 1947 elections were blatantly rigged in favour of the Democratic Bloc, with Communist and Socialist parties being merged to form the Polish United Workers' Party. In 1952 the Front of National Unity was formed, including the PZPR, the agrarian United People's Party and the centrist Democratic Party, while up to three Catholic associations also had representation in the Sejm. Occasionally, deputies from these groups offered limited criticism of government policies. A number of deputies from bloc parties also voted against the imposition of Martial Law in Poland, after which the Front of National Unity was replaced by the Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth which included the same as well as additional member organisations. In 1989, partly free elections were held in which Solidarity won an overwhelming majority of freely contestable seats- only 35% of the Sejm- while the PZPR and bloc parties were reserved 65% of the seats. The ZSL and SD formed a coalition government with Solidarity, thus forming Poland's first non-Communist government since World War II. The SD continues today, whereas the ZSL eventually evolved into today's Polish People's Party. Two of the Catholic associations with Sejm representation continue today as lay Catholic organisations.
Bulgaria
During Communist rule in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union was the only other legal party. A number of successor parties exist in post-Communist Bulgaria.
Other examples
In China, North Korea and Vietnam, bloc parties also exist, playing a subordinate role to ruling Communist parties as constituent members of official coalitions.
In non-communist regimes
A few examples of a bloc party system also exist in non-Communist regimes.
Australia
Since the 1920s, the main centre-right force in Australian politics at the federal level has been an alliance of parties known as the Coalition: originally consisting of the Nationalist Party and the Australian Country Party, it currently includes those parties' successors, the Liberal Party of Australia and the National Party of Australia. The Coalition's formation was prompted by the rise of the centre-left Australian Labor Party, which remains the Coalition's main political opponent. The two parties of the Coalition draw support from different bases, with the Liberals gaining their votes in urban areas and the Nationals winning theirs in rural areas. Arrangements at state and territorial level vary, from the merger of state Liberal and National parties through to electoral alliances on the federal model and, in the case of Western Australia, a looser relationship.
The Hong Kongpro-democracy camp has been establishing an electoral coalition in local level elections. Unless there is a coordination failure, the parties within the camp will not contest against each other in local level elections. In the coming General Election, they also launch primaries to ensure the greatest coordination and thus greatest possible number of seats, at best simple majority can be achieved.
Hungary
is the coalition partner of the ruling party Fidesz, and runs with Fidesz on a joint electoral list.
, a right-wing libertarian party, and United Future, a centrist party, run their leaders as candidates in Epsom and Ōhāriu electorates respectively, who are typically endorsed by the National Party, its leader and its candidates in these electorates. The minor party MPs are then offered cabinet positions and their parties serve as coalition partners in a National government.
The Future Korea Party is a bloc party of the United Future Party, the opposition party. All parties excluding the UFP accepted a new election law starting in 2020 which led to the adoption of a proportional representation election system, which is more disadvantageous for giant parties like UFP and DP before. They gets less seats under the new proportional representation system than other small parties. So, UFP made a bloc party for the 2020 South Korean legislative election, in order to get more electoral seats that are under their control.
Syria
The National Progressive Front is an umbrella organisation comprising the Ba'th Party and several other pro-government parties, who in practice play a subordinate role to the Ba'th Party. Traditionally, legal political parties were required to follow the socialist and Arab nationalist or pan-Arabist orientation of the al-Assad regime. More recently, parties have been no longer required to do so in order to receive legal recognition and one such party, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, was both legalised and admitted to the NPF. This has given rise to suggestions other parties that are neither socialist nor Arab nationalist will gain recognition, but ethnically-based parties continue to be repressed, and Islamist parties remain illegal.
Although there is no formal coalition group, Uzbekistan may also be classified as having an example of a bloc party system, because all legal political parties are required to support the regime of President Islam Karimov.
