Does Politicization Matter for EU Representation? A Comparison of Four European Parliament Elections*

Abstract

What is the effect of politicization on EU representation? We empirically test two competing views through a focus on party–voter congruence, namely whether parties share the policy preferences of their voters. The first perspective expects that the process of politicization – either through party or media contestation – would improve party–voter agreement. The second perspective argues that politicization has not improved the supply of partisan debate with parties still not offering satisfactory options to voters who are primarily driven by protest-based considerations; and as such does not expect an effect. We analyse congruence on the left–right and pro–anti-EU dimensions, capturing questions related to EU policy and polity, respectively. Our examination of four European Parliament elections (1999–2014) and 341 parties across 53 electoral contexts points to the limited effect of politicization upon representation. Our findings have significant implications for the study of EU politicization and representation and open up avenues for future research.