Debating or displaying political positions?

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 571-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut Gruber
Keyword(s):  
Third Party ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Government Program ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
Inaugural Speech ◽  
Global Discourse ◽  
The Government ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
Discourse Units

Abstract This paper investigates the reference statements and rhetorical functions of politicians’ reactive (“uptaking”) statements in parliamentary debates as well as their self-positioning effects. Uptaking moves may be used by speakers for pursuing strategic, global discourse aims. The specific properties of such ‘uptaking’ utterances and their sequential embedding in the unfolding discourse provide analysts with cues of speakers’ global interactional goals. Results indeed show how global and local pragmatic factors impact content, form, and rhetorical function of MPs’ uptaking statements. The data comprises four Austrian parliamentary sessions, which follow the inaugural speech each newly appointed Austrian chancellor has to deliver in the Austrian national assembly at the beginning of a legislative term. Overall, four fifths of the uptaking discourse units (consisting of ‘reference to previous statement plus comment’) refer to the government program, the inaugural speech or a previous MPs’ statement. Whereas a closer investigation of the reference statements seems to indicate a left wing vs. right wing rhetorical pattern (with left wing and center parties referring to ‘official’ sources, while right wing parties set their own topical agenda), investigating the rhetorical functions of the uptaking discourse units reveals a clear government vs. opposition (but no party-specific) rhetoric: Government party MPs praise the government program (or the inaugural speech), opposition party speakers criticize it. Both groups thus focus on the interpersonal plain of interaction. In contrast, argumentative (or counter-argumentative) uptaking discourse units which would indicate speakers’ willingness to enter into a rational discourse (in a Habermasian sense) with their political opponents are extremely rare. Through their rhetorical activities, the vast majority of government and opposition speakers thus reinforce and perpetuate already known political stances and affiliations in front of a third party (i.e. the general public watching the debates via TV or Internet livestream) rather than presenting themselves as rational, problem-focused politicians.

Housing Prices and Government Approval: The Impact of Housing Booms on Left- and Right-Wing Governments in 16 Advanced Industrialized Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-185
Author(s):  
Sung Min Han ◽  
Mi Jeong Shin
Keyword(s):  
Housing Prices ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Approval Ratings ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn this article, we argue that rising housing prices increase voter approval of incumbent governments because such a rise increases personal wealth, which leads to greater voter satisfaction. This effect is strongest under right-wing governments because those who benefit from rising prices—homeowners—are more likely to be right-leaning. Non-homeowners, who are more likely to vote for left-leaning parties, will view rising housing prices as a disadvantage and therefore feel the government does not serve them well, which will mitigate the advantage to left-wing governments. We find support for our arguments using both macro-level data (housing prices and government approval ratings in 16 industrialized countries between 1960 and 2017) and micro-level data (housing prices and individuals’ vote choices in the United Kingdom using the British Household Panel Survey). The findings imply that housing booms benefit incumbent governments generally and right-wing ones in particular.

scholarly journals Alexander on a White Horse

Monitor ISH ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-31
Author(s):  
Igor Grdina
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Russian Revolution ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
White Horse ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right

The paper discusses various interpretative strategies and narratives applied to the role which was played by Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky (1881–1970) in the Russian Revolution. It critically evaluates views of the provisional government’s president as a non-radical revolutionary, whose work called for an upgrade in a ‘second revolution’, as well as the interpretation which makes him out to have been a counter-revolutionary at his core. Tracing the causes of his actions in 1917 to his personality traits, the study arrives at the conclusion that Kerensky was a revolutionary of an entirely different breed from those who removed him from power in October 1917; for him, the ‘first revolution’ was enough. The contribution also examines those of Kerensky’s actions which benefited his left-wing opponents, particularly his policy of disassembling the government apparatus out of fear of the right-wing enemy.

scholarly journals Assurance-maladie et libéralisme économique: l’échec de l’initiative populaire du Parti socialiste suisse de 1974

Gesnerus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-122
Author(s):  
Hadrien Buclin
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Business Community ◽  
Socialist Party ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
Assurance Maladie ◽  
The Government ◽  
Popular Initiative

In 1974, the Swiss citizens voted against a popular initiative aimed at reforming the health insurance, launched by the Swiss Socialist Party. They refused as well a less ambitious counter-proposal elaborated by the government. This failure of the left-wing reformers is worthy of interest. This was, indeed, the main attempt until now to implement a healthcare subsidization based on social funding that would provide a wide risk coverage. In fact, shortly after the vote, the emerging economic crisis rather reinforced the advocates of a limitation of social welfare benefits. This durably hindered the political Left’s hopes of transforming in depth the Swiss healthcare system. The 1974 failure of the socialist initiative thus contributed to strengthen the conservative model, which received support from right-wing forces and the business community.

Dutch election could be two-party race

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Liberal Party ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Eu

Significance Months of negotiations between the government, parliament and EU member states on the Netherlands’ approval of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement -- which Dutch voters rejected in a referendum last April -- damaged the electoral prospects of Rutte's Liberal Party (VVD). However, he reached a provisional deal in December. His success in temporarily parking this contentious issue comes amid the unfolding of a two-party race between the VVD and the PVV in the final weeks before the elections on March 15. Impacts If the VVD stays in power for another term, a referendum on EU membership is highly unlikely. The VVD’s tougher stance on immigration and integration could attract right-wing voters and make it a more tempered alternative to the PVV. The Labour Party may shift its focus from economic to social issues to differentiate itself from the VVD and attract left-wing voters.

Rank Effects in Bargaining: Evidence from Government Formation

2019 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 1261-1295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Fujiwara ◽  
Carlos Sanz
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Coalition Formation ◽  
Bargaining Power ◽  
Regression Discontinuity ◽  
Regression Discontinuity Design ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Aggregate Information ◽  
The Government

Abstract Theories of multilateral bargaining and coalition formation applied to legislatures predict that parties’ seat shares determine their bargaining power. We present findings that are difficult to reconcile with this prediction, but consistent with a norm prescribing that “the most voted party should form the government”. We first present case studies from several countries and regression discontinuity design-based evidence from twenty-eight national European parliaments. We then focus on 2,898 Spanish municipal elections in which two parties tie in the number of seats. We find that the party with slightly more general election votes is substantially more likely to appoint the mayor. Since tied parties should (on average) have equal bargaining power, this identifies the effect of being labeled the most voted. This effect is comparable to that of obtaining an additional seat, and is also present when a right-wing party is the most voted and the second and third most voted parties are allied left-wing parties who can form a combined majority. A model where elections both aggregate information and discipline incumbents can rationalize our results and yields additional predictions we take to the data, such as voters punishing second most voted parties that appoint mayors.

scholarly journals ‘Land for Those Who Work It’: A Visual Analysis of Agrarian Reform Posters in Velasco's Peru

2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNA CANT
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Agrarian Reform ◽  
Visual Media ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Military Government ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
American Military ◽  
The Government

AbstractLatin American military dictatorships of the twentieth century were often right-wing, elitist and violent. A marked exception was the left-wing Peruvian military government of Juan Velasco Alvarado. More exceptional still was the government's use of visual media. Between 1968 and 1970 it produced approximately 20 posters, printed in editions of 50,000 to 200,000, to promote the radical Agrarian Reform Law. These posters provide vibrant representations of the agrarian reform's ideological aspects, which have been under-studied. A detailed exploration of visual communication shows that the government deployed aesthetically sophisticated propaganda and symbols to encourage social participation in the reform.

Government Partisanship and Electoral Accountability: The Effect of Perceived Employment Situation on Partisan Vote Switching

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 727-743
Author(s):  
Hyeok Yong Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Panel Study ◽  
Economic Voting ◽  
Vote Choice ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Issue Salience ◽  
Panel Surveys ◽  
Employment Situation ◽  
Voter Transition ◽  
The Government

What are the electoral impacts of perceptions of unemployment under different partisan persuasions of the government? Neither the literature on retrospective economic voting nor partisan voting has provided a compelling answer to this question. This paper addresses this puzzle by analyzing panel surveys and leveraging differences in government partisanship in two consecutive elections. I argue that negative evaluations of the employment situation induce voter transition to support a left-wing party under a right-wing government, but that such voter perceptions do not affect vote choice under a left-wing government. An analysis of a voter transition, using British Election Panel Study 1992–1997 and 1997–2001, reveals findings that support my argument. My argument suggests conditional partisan voting effects. Essentially, the effect of economic issues on vote choice is conditional on issue salience and which party “owns” the issue, namely, the varying levels of issue salience related to government partisanship.

Brief Report: Can Political Orientation Explain Mental Health in the Time of a Global Pandemic? Voting Patterns, Personal and National Coping Resources, and Mental Health During the Coronavirus Crisis

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-171
Author(s):  
Adi Mana ◽  
Shifra Sagy
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
National Level ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Coping Resources ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Governmental Institutions

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine mental health during the coronavirus pandemic crisis and its explanation by personal and national level coping resources. This question was examined in the midst of a political crisis in Israel among voters from two different political orientations. Method: Questionnaires were delivered to a sample of 396 Israeli Jews, of them 180 (45.5%) right-wing and 216 (54.5%) left-wing voters. Right-wing voters presented higher levels of mental health during the crisis as compared to left-wing voters. Results: Right-wing voters also reported stronger levels of national coping resources such as sense of national coherence and trust in governmental institutions. Moreover, mental health was predicted only by personal resources among left-wing voters, while among the right-wing participants national resources were significant as well. Discussion: The results highlight the role of political orientation and low trust in the government as a possible risk factor for mental health even in times of global pandemic crisis.

scholarly journals Independent but not indifferent: Partisan bias in monetary policy at the Fed

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Clark ◽  
Vincent Arel-Bundock
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
Weighted Average ◽  
The United States ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
White House ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
The Government ◽  
Central Bankers

Independent central banks are thought to be effective inflation hawks because they are run by technocrats with conservative monetary policy preferences. However, central bankers can only protect their independence by compromising with the elected officials who grant them their independence. Policy, therefore, is likely to be a weighted average of the preferences of the central bank and the government. Consequently, central bankers may be eager to help right‐wing governments stay in power and oppose the election of left‐wing governments. We show evidence from the United States that interest rates (a) decline as elections approach when Republicans control the White House, but rise when Democrats do; and (b) are sensitive to the inflation rate (output gap) when Democrats (Republicans) are in the White House. Thus, the Federal Reserve is a conditional inflation hawk. Since the Fed became operationally independent in 1951, the Republicans have exhibited a decided electoral advantage in presidential politics.

Independents and the Party System

2021 ◽  
pp. 538-557
Author(s):  
Liam Weeks
Keyword(s):  
Formation Process ◽  
Political System ◽  
Party System ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
System P ◽  
The Government ◽  
Political Entrepreneurs

The presence of independents in the Irish political system is unusual from a comparative perspective. Sometimes seen as an idiosyncratic phenomenon, they are analysed in terms of their relation to the party system, and categorized in a manner similar to that applied to party families. Why independents do not form parties is analysed from an institutional and behavioural perspective, showing that there are a number of incentives for political entrepreneurs to remain as independents rather than transition to a new party. The nature of support for independents is assessed through a populist lens, considering if independents take the place of populist parties in the electoral marketplace. It is found that independents have more in common with left-wing progressives than right-wing nativists. The final section examines the role of independents in the government formation process, showing that the levels of stability and output are not as low as might be expected.

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