Representation of the Work-related Immigration Issue: Positions of the Finnish Electorate and MP Candidates in the 2003 Parliamentary Elections

Abstract

Deriving from the general theories of representation, as well as from the economic interest thesis on the issue of immigration, the paper examines the opinion congruence on the work-related immigration issue between voters, non-voters, elected MP candidates and non-elected MP candidates in the Finnish parliamentary elections of 2003. The study is based on the pooled data (N = 2,712) from the Finnish National Election Study 2003 and the Candidate Selection Machine 2003. The results show that the four groups have significant attitudinal differences, and that the more positive attitudes of candidates cannot be explained by group differences in social status. The opinion representation would thus not have worked better even if the electorate had voted based on social resemblance.