(In)Congruence as a factor explaining changes in the political positions of social democratic parties

To explain the decline in support for social democratic parties, traditionally focused on economic issues, scholars highlight the growing importance of cultural topics and the rise of culturally oriented rival parties that attract social democratic voters. This raises the question of how social democratic parties respond. We argue that social democracies should respond to the incongruence between their political positions and those of their supporters on the economic and, particularly, cultural dimension, and adjust their positions to become more congruent. Responsiveness should also be stronger where new parties exert pressure by emphasising their “newness.” Using data from the Chapel Hill Expert Survey and European Social Survey, we find that social democracies react and reduce the incongruence on the economic dimension. On the cultural dimension, they adjust their positions to align more closely with those of their supporters. However, the overall responsiveness to this incongruence is observed only in countries with relevant new political parties. Altogether, social democratic parties respond only in a limited way to the incongruence that contributes to voter losses, suggesting limited adaptation in the face of shifting political landscapes.