Listening to the people: politicians’ investment in monitoring public opinion and their beliefs about accountability

Abstract

ABSTRACT Politicians’ understanding of public opinion constitutes a crucial factor in the representational relationship between them and the public. Therefore, politicians staying abreast of what citizens want and why they want it matters for democratic representation. In this study, we examine how intensely politicians monitor public opinion and why there is variation between politicians. Relying on survey evidence collected among Belgian MPs and U.S. local legislators, we show that politicians who more strongly feel the weight of voter scrutiny – who believe that voters are aware of what they do and will hold them accountable for it at the ballot box – interact more frequently with ordinary citizens, discuss public opinion more often with their fellow colleagues, and spend more time collecting public opinion information. The effect is potent, even if we control for politicians’ electoral vulnerability, their ambition and their role conception.