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Are Irish voters moving to the left?
[journal article]
Abstract
The Irish party system has been an outlier in comparative politics. Ireland never had a left-right divide in parliament, and for decades, the dominant centrist political parties competed around a centre-right policy agenda. The absence of an explicit left-right divide in party competition suggested ... view more
The Irish party system has been an outlier in comparative politics. Ireland never had a left-right divide in parliament, and for decades, the dominant centrist political parties competed around a centre-right policy agenda. The absence of an explicit left-right divide in party competition suggested that Irish voters, on average, occupy centre-right policy preferences. Combining survey data since 1973 and all Irish election studies between 2002 and 2020, we show that the average Irish voter now leans to the centre-left. We also show that income has recently emerged as a predictor of left-right self-placement, and that left-right positions increasingly structure vote choice. These patterns hold when using policy preferences on taxes, spending, and government interventions to reduce inequality as alternative indicators. We outline potential explanations for this leftward shift, and conclude that these developments might be anchored in economic inequalities and the left populist strategies of Sinn Féin.... view less
Keywords
Ireland; ideology; voter; self-assessment; political behavior; political ideology; voting behavior
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
Left-right politics; ideology; voter self-placement; Eurobarometer
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 535-555
Journal
Irish Political Studies, 36 (2021) 4
Issue topic
The Irish National Election Study, 2020
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2021.1973737
ISSN
1743-9078
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed