Awakening the Europhile Giant: EU Issue Voting in Western and Central‐Eastern Europe

Abstract

AbstractMany works have analysed EU issue voting, showing that European integration affects electoral preferences. This article posits that EU issues have increasingly influenced party preferences, boosting their effects and, in particular, on Europhile parties. Several punctuation points – authority transfer towards the EU, party politicisation efforts and a multiple set of crises – have occurred, with EU issues cumulating effects on voting preferences. Europhile parties may have strategically responded on this issue dimension, seizing on more favourable public orientations and, thus, prompting an electoral mobilisation of their constituents. By exploring the EU issue voting patterns in 25 Western and Central‐Eastern European countries between 2014 and 2019, the article presents two core findings, corroborating its expectations. It demonstrates that EU issues have increasingly affected electoral preferences, as well as enhancing their effects amongst the Europhile party voters.