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Are voters under Euroskeptic leaders turning Euroskeptic: Leadership cues and anti-EU views in Italy

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  • Emanuel Coman

    (Department of Political Science, 8809Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland)

Abstract

A well-established literature has emphasised the influence of party cues on voters’ views vis-à -vis the EU and EU-related issues. We expand this literature by looking at the role of leadership cues received from elected officials, regardless of their political/ideological affiliation. We drive our empirics from a 2013 survey in Italy, and we focus on a highly salient issue at the time, the EU-imposed structural reform. These structural reforms were heavily criticised by the centre-right coalition of Silvio Berlusconi. Using a regression discontinuity design we find respondents in localities led by the centre-right coalition to have a more negative view of the structural reforms, but this effect is contingent on the length of exposure to the centre-right leadership. Furthermore, the average effect of being in power is driven by a strong effect on party supporters, with no effect on non-supporters.

Suggested Citation

  • Emanuel Coman, 2025. "Are voters under Euroskeptic leaders turning Euroskeptic: Leadership cues and anti-EU views in Italy," European Union Politics, , vol. 26(3), pages 501-525, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:eeupol:v:26:y:2025:i:3:p:501-525
    DOI: 10.1177/14651165251342455
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