Discredited incumbent parties had to prove democratic intent to voters and rivals alike

Evidence

Even parties blessed with skilled new elites and a record of reform, however, faced the enormous task of becoming effective democratic competitors after 1989. Having been discredited and forced to exit from power, these parties now had to convince both the voters and other parties of their democratic intentions and capabilities. If they were to gain broad electoral support and a chance to enter government coalitions, they had to formulate responsive political programs, field attractive new candidates and campaigns, and maintain parliamentary effectiveness. — Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming The Communist Past, 67

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Proportional electoral rules enable even discredited parties to return — John T. Ishiyama, Party Organization and the Political…, 46; Postcommunist successor parties returned to power through the incumbent democrats’ governing failures — Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming The Communist Past: The…, 962; Moderation alone cannot rehabilitate discredited parties competing against credible anticommunist rivals — Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming The Communist Past: The…, 652

Broader Connections

• Proportional electoral rules enable even discredited parties to return #qualifies (0.85) — John T. Ishiyama, Party Organization and the Political…, 46
• Moderation alone cannot rehabilitate discredited parties competing against credible anticommunist rivals #expands (0.85) — Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming The Communist Past, 652
• Postcommunist successor parties returned to power through the incumbent democrats’ governing failures #qualifies (0.80) — Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming The Communist Past, 962