Pre-Election Positions and Voting Behaviour in Parliament: Consistency among Swiss MPs

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Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
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Publications
Institution
Title
Pre-Election Positions and Voting Behaviour in Parliament: Consistency among Swiss MPs
Journal
Swiss Political Science Review
Author(s)
Schwarz D., Schädel L., Ladner A.
ISSN
1662-6370
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2010
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
16
Number
3
Pages
533-564
Language
english
Abstract
This article examines the determinants of positional incongruence between pre-election statements and post-election behaviour in the Swiss parliament between 2003 and 2009. The question is examined at the individual MP level, which is appropriate for dispersion-of-powers systems like Switzerland. While the overall rate of political congruence reaches about 85%, a multilevel logit analysis detects the underlying factors which push or curb a candidate's propensity to change his or her mind once elected. The results show that positional changes are more likely when (1) MPs are freshmen, (2) individual voting behaviour is invisible to the public, (3) the electoral district magnitude is not small, (4) the vote is not about a party's core issue, (5) the MP belongs to a party which is located in the political centre, and (6) if the pre-election statement dissents from the majority position of the legislative party group. Of these factors, the last one is paramount.
Keywords
Swiss Elections, Members of Parliament, Pledge Fulfilment, Legislative Behaviour, Vote Advice Applications
Create date
06/05/2014 8:55
Last modification date
20/08/2019 14:03
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