| dc.description.abstract | As the importance of the European Union increases in the world, through the expansion of the members, further integration, and numerous other factors, there is still a question about whether or not parties represent the voters’ and, more specifically, party supporters’ views on the issue of the European Union. Looking at fifteen EU member nations, and making use of the European Manifesto Project’s data and the Eurobarometer surveys, the results are mixed. On average, there is not enough evidence that the national governing parties are responding to the average preference of their supporters. However, the opposition parties are found to be reacting to their supporters’ preferences. This has implications for the literature of the European Union, dynamic representation, sub-constituency representation, and the behavior of political parties in government versus those in opposition, because the results show that parties in opposition are addressing the preferences of their party supporters, while the parties in government do not appear to be responsive. Therefore, parties cannot be treated in the same manner. | |
