Political Parties Attitude, Voter Trust and EU Integration (Albanian Case)

AuthorDorina Berdufi
PositionLecturer, PhD, Political Science Department, Aleksandsr Moisiu University, Albania
Pages310-320
European Integration - Realities and Perspectives. Proceedings 2019
310
Political Parties Attitude, Voter
Trust and EU Integration (Albanian Case)
Dorina Bёrdufi1
Abstract: This article focuses on the study of relations among political parties, their actions directed t o
fulfilling the EU integration political criteria and voters’ trust. Under Albanian conditions, it is supposed that
voters’ trust is not an important/influencing factor for the Albanian political parties towards their attitude to the
EU integration. The analysis is generally based on primary data of ESS, CHES, Balkan Public Barometer and
empiric Albanian surveys. Albanian political parties result to be politically polarized, possess strong leaders,
have conflicts among them (even resulting in parliament boycotts), etc. The voters’ trust in political parties per
se is in low level. The factors taken into consideration tend mostly to explain the thesis confirmation.
Consequently, the voter trust into political parties’ fallout to be a determinant for the political party’s action
and attitude, toward the European Integration. Although it is a factor of slowing down the level of belief of the
Albanian citizens that Albania will enter the EU soon, resulting not so positive for this country to integrate in
a bigger politically and economically government.
Keywords: Political Parties; Voter Trust; EU Integration
1. Introduction
“Political parties are a collective platform for the expression of individuals’ fundamental rights to
association and expression and have been recognized by the European Court of Human Rights as integral
players in the democratic process. Further, they are the most widely utilized means for political
participation and exercise of related rights. Parties are foundational to a pluralist political society and
play an active role in ensuring an informed and participative electorate. Additionally, parties often serve
as a bridge between the executive and legislative branches of government and can serve to effectively
prioritize the legislative agenda within a system of government.” (OSCE/ODIHR and Venic e
Commission, 2010, p. 8). The voter has considerable weight, especially in election period. Therefore,
“the will of the voters is of considerable importance to the pa rties” (Hofmeister & Grabow et.al, 2017,
p. 10). In this context the political pa rties need to prioritize their politics, focused on the voter’s issues
solving, and consequently raise their trust. On the other hand, this party voter relation established by
the voter following the parties dispute and political deliberations. The more the voter trust in their
influence in the decision making process, the more political parties would be focused in this
perspective, as a base criterion of political parties (to win the election and govern the country).
“Therefore, constant contact with numerous social groups and ass ociations is needed”. (Hofmeister &
Grabow et. al, 2017, p. 40). This relational and constant contact with the voter is doubtful in the Albanian
context. Party identification is one of the explanations of voter’s trust in political parties. Although it
1 Lecturer, PhD, Political Science Department, Aleksa ndёr Moisiu University, Albania, Address: L.1, Rr. Currilave, 2000,
Durrës, Albania, Corresponding author: berdufidorina@gmail.com.

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