How do Parties React to VAAs - From Party Programs to Issue Voting?

The growing importance of issue representation and proximity voting fostered by VAAs can be seen as a challenge to longstanding party programs based on ideologies. Voters increasingly have the possibilities to select parties - and in the case of candidate based preference voting, the different candidates- which share exactly the same issue positions. Hence, the parties are likely to adapt their offer to the voters’ demands leaving aside their ideological background. This can be seen as belated step towards the party models described by Kirchheimer (1965) and Panebianco (1988), towards catch-all parties with professional organizations seeking primarily electoral success. The data used to test this hypothesis stems from semi-structured interviews among party and campaign officials in Switzerland. We will look at the way the parties organize their appearance on smartvote in the course of an important cantonal election and the national elections in 2015.