Responsiveness when parties are “weak”: A candidate-based analysis of voter-party congruence in Europe

• Published in: Party politics Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 149 - 162
• Main Authors: Pedrazzani, Andrea, Segatti, Paolo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.01.2022; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Candidates; Congruence; Elections; Ideology; Parliamentary elections; Partisanship; Polarization; Political campaigns; Political parties; Politicians; Polls & surveys; Proximity; Representation; Responsiveness; Voters; Europe; candidates; political parties; congruence; left–right; representation; Europe

Outside the US, the crucial question of how well politicians represent the preferences of voters is usually investigated at the party level. Reversing this perspective, we examine representation in Europe from the point of view of individual candidates running in national parliamentary elections. Th...