In school in Europe we were taught in six political spectra:
- Liberal-left (Green parties)
- Liberal-right (Social liberals)
- Conservative-Left (Social Democrats)
- Conservative-Right (Christian & Catholic parties)
- Extreme Left (Communists)
- Extreme Right (Fascists)
This model does not work in USA where Democrats would be considered conservative right in Europe and Republicans as an extreme right. However, it describes system in many countries in Central Europe (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, and probably more. Nonetheless,political parties often shift and create a coalition but with the exception of extreme parties, they tend to move to the center. Some parties shift their position as did Democrats and Republicans in the past 150 years. Catholic parties were originally traditionalist, but cared for social issues, education, and vocal opponent of banking cartels in the 19th century to become one the most conservative element in Central Europe with a catastrophic outcome later in WWII as Clerical fascism (Tiso Slovakia and Ustache Croatia). Either way, political system is not set in stone and continues to develop based on the social, economic, and demographic condition in the country.