Responsibility attribution in coalition governments: Evidence from Germany

Mariyana Angelova*, Thomas König, Sven Oliver Proksch

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

Models of coalition governance suggest that political parties pursue the interests of their electorate through the ministerial control of policy in their portfolios. Yet, little is known whether voters reward or punish coalition parties for policy performance in their portfolios. This study investigates voters’ evaluations of the policy priorities of coalition parties and their responsibility attribution in twenty policy areas using survey data from Germany. Specifically, we investigate whether voters attribute policy responsibility equally across coalition parties, along the jurisdictional lines of ministerial portfolios, or to the dominant party in the coalition. Our findings suggest that party size, prime minister status, and ministerial portfolios are decisive for responsibility attribution.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)133-149
Number of pages17
JournalElectoral Studies
Volume43
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Coalition government
  • Partisan performance ratings
  • Policy importance
  • Responsibility attribution
  • Voter perceptions

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