The Effect of Ideological Distance on Voting Behaviour in Parliament Under Changing Economic Conditions: A Comparison Between Portugal and Spain

In this article we empirically test the impact of ideological distancebetween opposition parties and incumbents on consensus inparliament in two different countries, Portugal and Spain, amidchanging economic conditions. To do so, we employ theComparative Manifesto Project database and develop a measureof ideological distance on the left-right and the centre-peripherydimensions based on parties’preferences as expressed in theirmanifestos. We demonstrate that the economic crisis haddifferent effects in the two countries. In Portugal, it amplified thenegative impact on consensus of ideological distance betweenthe incumbent and opposition parties. As expected, parties moredistant from the incumbent on the left-right continuum weremore likely to vote against legislation. In Spain, by contrast,changes in the party system forced traditional mainstreamparties, especially the socialists, to increase their opposition inparliament. Moreover, the crisis amplified the effect of the centre-periphery dimension on parliamentary conflict. As a result, notonly parties ideologically distant from the incumbent on theleft-right continuum were more likely to vote against legislation.