Aiming to assess the significance of the economic crisis on the evaluations of representation patterns, this paper explores how Portuguese citizens and MPs evaluate the roles of legislators and the representation process in two different periods of time: before (2008) and after the crisis (2012). It makes use of a set of six issues characterizing two visions of representation: one institutional-independent and another participatory-mandatory. The research rests on surveys of both voters and MPs, carried out at the start of the economic crisis, and after the effects of the crisis were deeply felt. Findings reveal significant changes in the patterns of representation between 2008 and 2012, and a tendency for increasing MPs-voters' correspondence on the issues of representation. Finally, voters' views on the patterns of representation seem to be equally significant when explaining the levels of congruence both before and after the crisis.
