Universität zu Köln

Wäckerle, Jens ORCID: 0000-0002-5108-7711 and Proksch, Sven-Oliver ORCID: 0000-0002-6130-6498 (2025). Political knowledge and perceptions of minority governments in Europe. European Journal of Political Research. pp. 1-13. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 0304-4130

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Abstract

Minority governments are common across parliamentary systems, and a large body of literature has examined their stability and performance. Meanwhile, we know very little about how voters perceive this government type and whether they understand its political implications. We survey voters in Denmark, Germany, and Sweden, three European countries with varying degrees of exposure to minority governments, about their knowledge and perceptions of minority governments. We find that voters have knowledge levels comparable to those about the role of political parties, and that this is independent of the respective prevalence of minority governments in each country. Informed voters express stronger preferences for majority governments. However, minority governments are associated with specific positive representational traits, specifically with the impression that such governments listen more to the demands of all voters, and general perceptions are stronger for knowledgeable voters. The findings have implications for how elites can formulate arguments in favour or against minority governments that may resonate with voters.

Item Type:	Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Wäckerle, Jens UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5108-7711 UNSPECIFIED Proksch, Sven-Oliver UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6130-6498 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-799202
Identification Number:	10.1017/S147567652510025X
Journal or Publication Title:	European Journal of Political Research
Page Range:	pp. 1-13
Number of Pages:	13
Date:	15 October 2025
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	0304-4130
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Management, Economy and Social Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Political Science > Cologne Center for Comparative Politics
Subjects:	Social sciences Political science
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language political knowledge English minority government English voter perceptions English government formation English public opinion English
['eprint_fieldname_oa_funders' not defined]:	Publikationsfonds UzK
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/79920