National Electoral Consequences of the Financial Crisis

Abstract

Since 2008, Europe has gone through one of the deepest economic and financial crises in its history. What have been the electoral consequences of this phenomenon? If ever there was a time when we would expect performance considerations to become paramount, one would expect it to be in the aftermath of the financial tsunami that engulfed several democracies over the past decade. But to what extent was that the case? Was it a simple equation of voters punishing incumbents for the financial meltdown? Or was the situation more complex? Where different sorts of incumbents differently affected by economic performance? Has the singular nature of this crisis affected judgments about whom to blame for it? Have voter loyalties remained strong despite their misgivings about the government’s performance? How has the crisis affected party strategies and discourses? These are some of the questions the papers in this panel will address.