### 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.