Representation in the European Parliament: Factors affecting the attitude congruence of voters and candidates in the EP elections

Abstract

This article examines the extent to which individual-, party- and system-level characteristics affect the attitude congruence of voters and candidates for elections to the European Parliament. It examines attitudes towards basic policy packages in the socioeconomic and libertarian/authoritarian issue domains and on immigration and European Union integration. The analysis is based on the 2009 European Election Study and European Election Candidate Survey, which covered 27 countries of the European Union (EU), 162 parties and over 11,500 respondents. It shows that the European Parliament suffers from inequalities in representation for different groups of citizens, representing much better the attitudes of educated, middle-class and politically knowledgeable voters. Furthermore, the analysis uncovers significant differences across political parties in how well they match up to voters. We provide tentative evidence suggesting that voters are better represented in open and ordered ballot systems. © The Author(s) 2012 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.