The leadership of Blair and Aznar towards the political centre.

Authors

  • SEBASTIÁN LAVEZZOLO y LLUÍS ORRIOLS

Keywords:

endogenous preferences, leadership, loyalty, Blair, Aznar.

Abstract

The spatial models derived from Downs’s theory assume that voters’ preferences are exogenous to the political process. According to this vision, vote-maximising parties have to move towards the median voter and not vice versa. In this article we challenge this assumption and study the capacity of political parties to lead the preferences of the electorate. The article focuses on two cases of political moderation: Tony Blair in the United Kingdom and Jose Maria Aznar in Spain. Our results confirm that to some extent these political leaders were able to modify the preferences of the electorate, although their capacity to do so depended on voters’ identification with or loyalty towards the party.

Published

2009-01-07