Citizens' Inference from Coalitions
Recent studies document that voters infer parties’ left-right positions along multiple policy dimensions, including European integration, by observing governing coalition arrangements. We demonstrate this heuristic extends to the complex issue of Europe.
Methodological Conflict
Surprisingly, these popular inferences based on coalitions starkly contrast with alternative measures derived from election manifestos and expert placements.
Political Significance
Our analysis reveals citizens’ perceptions along the European integration dimension drive substantial partisan sorting. This finding has direct implications for parties' electoral strategies and mass-elite policy linkages.
