Abstract
The party manifesto is a crucial document identifying a party’s ideological position. Measuring the response of political party manifestos to both the mean voter as well as party constituency positions remains extensively difficult given the lack of available data, but also the complex political realities and factors which the parties must take into consideration e.g. the economy, globalization, the demands of the market, and pressure from rival parties. In spite of these complexities, this article analyses the extent to which political parties reflect voter policy emphasis in their political manifestos. Through the content analysis of electoral manifestos the article determines the policy positions of Czech political parties during the 2010 and 2013 elections to the Lower House of the Parliament. Identifying also key voter policy preferences the article looks into the possible congruence between shifts in voter emphasis and changes in party electoral manifestos. Employing an approach not yet fully applied in academic research, the article examines shifts within ideological space, while focusing also on specific key policy areas. It concludes that in the short term – from the 2010 to 2013 parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic - political parties responded to shifts in voter policy emphasis in just one quarter of cases. The responsiveness differed significantly from one party to another.
Highlights
Citizens vote for political parties which they identify with, which they think best reflect their interests, and which are the most likely to change their position in theVoter policy emphasis and party electoral manifestos preferred direction (Busch 2016; Merrill and Grofman 1999: 17–32)
If political parties want to be re-elected, they must shape their electoral manifestos to respond to shifts in voter policy emphasis (Budge 1994; Stimson 1995)
It is difficult to isolate shifts in party policy in response to voter emphasis from other aspects of the electoral and political process (Kunštát 2004). In spite of these complexities, this article analyses the extent to which political parties reflect on the policy emphasis of voters in their electoral manifestos, using the case of the last two Czech parliamentary elections
Summary
Citizens vote for political parties which they identify with, which they think best reflect their interests, and which are the most likely to change their position in the. It is difficult to isolate shifts in party policy in response to voter emphasis from other aspects of the electoral and political process (Kunštát 2004) In spite of these complexities, this article analyses the extent to which political parties reflect on the policy emphasis of voters in their electoral manifestos, using the case of the last two Czech parliamentary elections. With the aim of filling the existing gap, the article establishes a complex methodology to examine how Czech political parties reflected in their electoral manifestos short-term shifts in voter policy emphasis (from 2010 to 2013 elections) in the ideological space in general, and within key policy areas. At the very beginning of the analysis, the article classifies Czech political parties that contested seats in 2010 and 2013 parliamentary elections on the left-right scale It identifies key policy areas which the voters indicated as the most important to them. Further comparative and more systematic research into the congruence between shifts in voter policy emphasis and the manifestos of political parties both in the short- and long-term would allow further examination of the behaviour of political parties and fill some gaps in existing academic research
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
