Second-Rate Election Campaigning? An Analysis of Campaign Styles in European Parliamentary Elections

Abstract

The literature on professionalization of political campaigns is strongly biased toward first-order (national) elections and the U.S. and U.K. contexts. This study expands that scope. Based on a survey of candidates for the 2004 European elections in eight European Union countries, we tested whether campaign efforts to mobilize voters were larger in countries with elite consensus on the issue of European integration than in countries with elite polarization. The results showed that campaigns in consensual electoral contexts in which political parties differ marginally on most issues of European integration were longer and involved more public meetings, more canvassing, and a more active use of Internet. The article concludes with a discussion of the campaign professionalization literature that does not apply universally.