Not with my vote: turnout and the economic crisis in Italy

Abstract

This article deals with voter turnout and the economic crisis, and focuses on the results of the 2013 parliamentary elections in Italy. A consolidated tradition of studies has attested to the impact of a negative economic cycle, unemployment and various issues related to the economy, on the decision whether or not to vote, although the results remain controversial. Some scholars have asserted that, during a period of crisis, voters 10 react positively, using their collective voice to demand more attention to their interests. Others argue that negative circumstances distance citizens from the electoral arena bringing a higher rate of abstention as a consequence. The peculiarity of the political situation in the period leading up to the 2013 election in Italy (the unexpected end of Berlusconi’s government in 2011, the period of transition under Monti’s technocratic 15 government and the rise of the Five Star Movement [MoVimento Cinque Stelle, M5S] as a new competitor) strongly influenced voters’ evaluations of how political parties were going to compete and whether, or for whom, they would vote. Survey results show that discontented voters largely used abstention as a strategy to express their resentment, but that the most politically engaged preferred to choose a radical party 20 (M5S), rather than refusing to vote

Repertoires of political participation: Macroeconomic conditions, socioeconomic resources, and participation gaps in Europe

“…In contrast, new political organizations, as the Five Stars Movement, were able to capitalize on the feeling of discontent, also intercepting protesters, and attract citizens who would have abstained to the polling booths (e.g. Mosca and Quaranta, 2017; Passarelli and Tuorto, 2014).…”

“…Mobilizations occurred not only in the crisis-ridden countries of the European periphery but also in countries such as France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom (Flesher Fominaya, 2017). Research also shows that the crisis led to detachment from the representative institutions of democracy (Armingeon and Guthmann, 2014) and, in turn, from voting as a way of expressing political preferences (Passarelli and Tuorto, 2014). Unfortunately, little is known about how citizens mix electoral and protest participation in times of economic crisis.…”

“…Recent research uses theories of grievance and resource mobilization to account for changes in protest or electoral participation (e.g. Grasso and Giugni, 2016; Kern et al, 2015; Passarelli and Tuorto, 2014; Van Stekelemburg and Klandermans, 2013), but it does not consider the connection between the two forms of participation, socioeconomic resources and contextual economic conditions.…”

Retrospective voting in the Italian 2013 election: a sub-national perspective

“…A further control variable is the change in turnout between the two elections. Citizens’ alienation during the Great Recession did not translate exclusively into voice against incumbents (Passarelli and Tuorto, 2014); it did so also into exit from the opportunity of be represented by parties (Giuliani and Massari, 2017). Thus, we need to add that confounding variable to our model.…”

La "mobilitazione" personale e la partecipazione alle elezioni regionali in Italia

“…In sostanza alcuni cittadini avevano deciso di astenersi non in base ad un orientamento di fondo rispetto ai partiti, ma sulla scorta di una puntuale valutazione negativa circa la capacità di governo di una proposta elettorale -l'Unione -alla quale erano prossimi in termini di orientamento politico generale. Analogamente alle elezioni politiche del 2013, i livelli di partecipazione al voto sono stati messi in relazione con le opinioni dei cittadini specificamente riferiti alla percezione della crisi economica che investe il paese e con il giudizio sulla capacità dei partiti e della politica in generale di fronteggiarla (Tuorto 2014;Passarelli, Tuorto 2014).…”