How important is the issue of European integration to national election campaigns? Roman Senninger and Markus Wagner write that while the EU previously played only a very small role in national elections, the onset of the Eurozone crisis has resulted in the issue becoming more prominent in campaigns in several countries. However, using an analysis of party press releases in Austria, they illustrate that parties still differ greatly in how they address the issue, with parties exhibiting a tendency to talk past each other rather than genuinely engaging with the subject

Senninger, Roman

Wagner, Markus

LSE Research Online

8/27/2015Parties now talk about the EU in national election campaigns, butthey still tend to talk past each otherblogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2015/08/27/parties-now-talk-about-the-eu-in-national-election-campaigns-but-they-still-tend-to-talk-past-each-other/How important is the issue of European integration to national election campaigns? RomanSenninger and Markus Wagner write that while the EU previously played only a very small role innational elections, the onset of the Eurozone crisis has resulted in the issue becoming moreprominent in campaigns in several countries. However, using an analysis of party press releases inAustria, they illustrate that parties still diﬀer greatly in how they address the issue, with partiesexhibiting a tendency to talk past each other rather than genuinely engaging with the subject.For a long time, most political parties in Europe have tended to avoid discussing the EU duringnational election campaigns. However, recently this has changed, with research showing thatparties have increasingly made EU issues a central topic of debate and disagreement in elections.The Eurozone crisis and the subsequent bail-out packages and reforms have meant that the EUhas ﬁnally entered the limelight of domestic politics.The key question in understanding the role of the EU in national politics is no longer whether partiestalk about the EU (and why they often fail to do so). Instead, it is more useful to ask how partiesmobilise on European Union issues in national elections. Are parties engaged in real debate and discussion aboutthe EU, or are they simply talking past each other? This question in turn has two key dimensions: ﬁrst, which partiesand actors within parties talk about the European Union? Second, what kinds of EU-related issues are discussedand how are they framed?Everybody is talking: parties and within-party actorsFirst, parties should diﬀer in how much they are likely to talk about EU issues. Arguably, Eurosceptic parties andgovernment parties should talk about the EU most. Eurosceptic parties hold what is often the most popular positionon the topic, so talking about the EU could potentially increase their popular support. In contrast, parties ingovernment may not be able to avoid talking about the EU as they will be called on to react to EU policies.Based on all press releases sent out by political parties during the 2008 and 2013 national election campaigns inAustria, we have conducted an analysis which illustrates that almost all parties addressed the European Union to asimilar degree. Most strikingly, we did not ﬁnd that the Eurosceptic and radical-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) talkedabout the EU to a much greater extent than its rivals, even though it is the party with the strongest issue-basedincentives to address the EU. Figure 1 shows that the Freedom Party sent out roughly as many EU-related pressreleases as the two government parties (the Social Democrats and Austrian People’s Party).Figure 1: Number of EU-related press releases by Austrian political parties1/7Note: Total number of press releases from political parties: 1,605 in 2008, 1,792 in 2013; totalnumber of EU-related press releases: 146 in 2008, 167 in 2013. Political parties are: SocialDemocratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), Austrian People’s Party(ÖVP), The Greens – The Green Alternative, Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ). For moreinformation see the authors’ recent article in the Journal of Common Market Studies.Which actors within parties talk about the EU? We ﬁnd that the three largest parties make strong use of their MEPsduring national election campaigns. Parties actively delegate EU issues to their MEPs. In contrast, national actorsare only selectively mobilised in the campaign. This also holds for the Eurosceptic and radical-right FPÖ, which wasleast expected to integrate their MEPs in campaign communication. The fact that MEPs play this role during nationalcampaigns suggests a growing Europeanisation of domestic politics.Content matters: the types of issues parties address and their framingWhile parties therefore resemble each other in terms of who talks about the EU, they diﬀer in terms of how they talkabout the EU. Figure 2 illustrates that the pattern of press releases from the SPÖ and the ÖVP has much greaterspikes over time than that of the FPÖ. A closer look at the issues addressed shows that the two parties ingovernment were largely reacting to external EU-related events, such as the armed conﬂict in Georgia during the2008 election campaign. In contrast, the radical-right FPÖ paid relatively consistent attention to the EU throughoutthe campaign and addressed a broad range of EU issues. This is true even in periods when the two large partiesfailed to pay attention to EU topics.Figure 2: EU-related press releases during the 2008 and 2013 Austrian election campaigns (last six weeksbefore election)2008 Election2013 Election 2/72013 ElectionNote: For more information see the authors’ recent article in the Journal of Common Market 3/7Note: For more information see the authors’ recent article in the Journal of Common MarketStudies.In terms of issue types we expected the Eurosceptic Freedom Party to talk more than other parties about generalEU issues, such as whether it supports the general direction of EU integration and its institutional structure. Incontrast, government parties should address the EU in reaction to external events and EU policies.Both patterns are supported by our results. Figure 3 shows that more than 50 per cent of press releases from thetwo parties in government cover EU policies. The FPÖ talks more about general EU integration topics (27 per cent)than the other parties. (EU-related topics are those that involve the EU in an indirect, externally initiated way, suchas the conﬂict in Georgia or the EU compatibility of national policies.)Figure 3: Type of EU press releases by party in 2008 and 2013 electionsNote: Political parties are: Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), Freedom Party of Austria(FPÖ), Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), The Greens – The Green Alternative. For moreinformation see the authors’ recent article in the Journal of Common Market Studies.The diﬀerences in the frames parties apply are starker. Framing implies that there are various ways EU issues canbe discussed. Hence, parties may diﬀer in the aspects of European integration that they address during an electioncampaign. Recent research has identiﬁed three main EU issue frames: cultural frames, economic frames and otherutilitarian frames. Our expectation is that parties emphasise those EU issue frames that match their overallideological focus. Figures 4 and 5 present the results for general and speciﬁc frames applied by parties during bothcampaign periods.4/7Figure 4: Issue frames applied by parties during 2008 and 2013 Austrian elections (general)Note: Political parties are: Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), Freedom Party of Austria(FPÖ), Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), The Greens – The Green Alternative. For moreinformation see the authors’ recent article in the Journal of Common Market Studies.Figure 5: Issue frames applied by parties during 2008 and 2013 Austrian elections (speciﬁc)5/7Note: Political parties are: Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), Freedom Party of Austria(FPÖ), Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), The Greens – The Green Alternative. For moreinformation see the authors’ recent article in the Journal of Common Market Studies.The results match our predictions very closely. Most clearly, the FPÖ strongly frames EU issues in ‘nationalist’terms: 33 per cent of its press releases match that frame. Both government parties strongly frame their pressreleases in economic terms. When we turn to speciﬁc frames we can see the expected diﬀerences between the twocoalition parties: while the social-democratic SPÖ stresses labour and social security, the conservative ÖVPaddresses economic prosperity frames. Finally, the Greens mostly pay attention to multicultural-universalist as wellas ecological aspects of European integration.ConclusionThe main parties in Austria talk about the European Union in their campaign communication to a very similar extent,and it is no longer the Eurosceptics who stand alone in addressing the European Union in national electioncampaigns. Recent developments at the EU level, most notably the Eurozone crisis, have made the EU a salienttopic in domestic politics. A closer look at the types of issues and frames applied, however, suggests that partiesapproach the EU in very diﬀerent ways. Hence, while the topic has entered party competition at the national level,parties hold diverse opinions about which aspects of European integration matter.This involves the danger of parties talking past each other as they are addressing the EU in fundamentally diﬀerentways. However, at least parties are engaging in debates about Europe, and this might in the longer term lead tomore in-depth and informed discussion about European integration.6/7Please read our comments policy before commenting .Note: For more information on this topic see the authors’ recent article in the Journal of Common Market Studies .This article gives the views of the authors, and not the position of EUROPP – European Politics and Policy, nor ofthe London School of Economics.Shortened URL for this post: http://bit.ly/1EkncAo _________________________________About the authorsRoman Senninger – Aarhus University Roman Senninger is a PhD student in Comparative Politics at the Department of Political Scienceat Aarhus University in Denmark. His research examines party competition with a special focus onEuropean Union issues.Markus Wagner – University of ViennaMarkus is Assistant Professor at the Department of Methods in the Social Sciences, University ofVienna. His research focuses on the role of issues and ideology in elections and party competition.7/7

Parties now talk about the EU in national election campaigns, but they still tend to talk past each other

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