The fin de siecle political parties are claimed to have moved far from
civil society, especially in the new democracies of Eastern Europe. T
hrough the example of the Hungarian Christian Democratic People's Part
y the paper analyses a different pattern of development: a party that
is deeply embedded in the subcultural network of organizations. Tracin
g the roots of the Catholic organizational bloc back to the end of the
last century, the article establishes the factors that have effected
the bloc's coherence and autonomy. Mapping the links between the Catho
lic-Christian organizations and analysing the party's inner life, the
role of the party elite in rebuilding the subculture is assessed. The
'subcultural party' is presented as one of the possible party types th
at might emerge in Eastern Europe.