Voters’ perceptions of ideologically inconsistent parties

There is a growing consensus in party politics that new fault lines are emerging, and scholars increasingly characterise competition as multidimensional. In a multidimensional space, parties can adopt varied positions, combining left/progressive stances on some issues with right/conservative ones on others. Earlier work found that parties combining such positions – what this article refers to as ideological inconsistency – receive less support than ideologically consistent parties. Yet insights are lacking into why inconsistent parties receive lower support. To address this, this article uses original surveys in ten countries, asking respondents and experts to position parties on economic, social, and cultural issues. Results show that citizens are somewhat less informed about the positions of inconsistent parties. The article also finds that when citizens perceive a party as more inconsistent, they like it less. This effect is not explained by proximity considerations or party type, suggesting a general distaste for ideological inconsistency.