In some of the literature, it is suggested that the decline of party membership in liberal democracies could lead to a weakening of the linkage mechanisms between citizens and the political system. If citizens no longer connect to party politics, because of the professionalization of politics, they become dealigned from the political system in general it is argued. In this analysis of the European Social Survey results (2002-2010) cumulative file, we investigate the relation between party membership, party identity and political trust. While party membership is indeed declining, its relation with political trust is rather weak, and even non-existent in countries with low levels of political trust. We do not find any indication therefore that the decline of party membership could have a negative effect on levels of political trust. Feeling close to a political party, or party identity, on the other hand is much more strongly connected to political trust, even controlling for political interest and political efficacy. Results however indicate that in most countries of Western Europe, levels of party identification are stable. We speculate that political parties indeed function as a linkage mechanism between citizens and the state, but that there is no reason to attribute a privileged role to formal party membership, as party identity apparently is much more successful in this regard.
