An Ever-Sleeping Giant?

Abstract

This chapter provides an analysis of party system attention to European integration. The expectation based on the issue incentive model was that large, mainstream parties were not interested in, and largely able to avoid the issue becoming an important issue on the party system agenda despite pressure from EU-sceptic issue entrepreneurs. This expectation was, by and large, confirmed. European integration continues to play a rather limited role on the party system agenda. Even events like the European debt crisis, which can be used by issue entrepreneurs to push the issue on the party system agenda, may generate ‘punctuations’, but not a stable position of the issue as important on the party system agenda. The deepening and broadening of the European Union has only led to a limited increase in the party system attention. Furthermore, referendums only function as alternative venues of attention if they have dramatic results like Brexit.