Recently, more serious election research has been done in the Netherlands than ever before. The latest additions to the growing number of election-studies concern the elections of February 15th... Show moreRecently, more serious election research has been done in the Netherlands than ever before. The latest additions to the growing number of election-studies concern the elections of February 15th 1967 for the Second Chamber of the Dutch parliament. So far, reports have been put out by the Institute for Applied Sociology of the University of Nijmegen, by the Utrecht sociologist Van Dam and by the political science division of the Free University in Amsterdam. Daudt discusses various aspects of these studies and mentions the other election studies that have been undertaken previously. Van Dam’s study is commended for his method of questioning and the quick way in which he was able to produce his first results in a television-program on the very evening of the elections. He should be more cautious, however, in drawing general conclusions from his material that was gathered only in Utrecht. He is wrong in thinking that a few social characteristics would wholly ’determine’ voting behavior. Daudt strongly objects to two aspects of Hoogerwerf’s article ’The Dutch Voters and the Party System’ (Acta Politica vol. II - 4, pp. 297—330). Hoogerwerf’s use of the ’index of affinity’ between two political parties and his typology of the political parties in the Netherlands are rejected on methodological grounds. In a rejoinder Hoogerwerf rejects Daudt’s criticism and defends his own method of analysis. Show less
This article is a descriptive analysis of some data from a national survey, consisting of interviews with 4292 Dutch voters in 64 municipalities, held by the Free University (Amsterdam) immediately... Show moreThis article is a descriptive analysis of some data from a national survey, consisting of interviews with 4292 Dutch voters in 64 municipalities, held by the Free University (Amsterdam) immediately after the general elections of February 15, 1967, A distinction is made between primary and secondary party identification. Primary party identification is measured by the questions ’To which political party do you fee closest?’ (the direction dimension) and ’How close do you feel to this party? Very close, close, not close, not close at all?’ (the intensity dimension). Secondary party identification is measured by the question: ’If the party you just mentioned did not exist, to which party would you then feel closest?’ In table 1 the answers on the latter question are combined with party choice in 1967. The abbreviations of the names of the parties and their percentages of the total vote in 1967 are: KVP = Catholic People’s Party (26.5%); PvdA = Labour Party (23,6%); VVD = People’s Party for Liberty and Democracy (10,7%); ARP = Anti-Revolutionary Party (9,9%); CHU = Christian Historical Union (8,1%); BP = Farmers Party (4,8%); PSP = Pacifist Socialist Party (2,9%); CPN = Communist Party (3,6%); SGP = State Reformed Party (2,0%); CPV = Reformed Political League (0,9%); D’66 = Democrats ’66 (4,5%). The sum of the percentage of voters of party A which are secondary identifiers of party B and the percentage of voters of party B which ate secondary identifiers of party A is called the index of the extent of affinity between two parties (at the level of the voters). The remainder after subtraction of the two percentages is called the index of the direction (one-sidedness or two-sidedness) of affinity between two parties. The aversion against other parties is measured by the question: ’Against which two parties in the Netherlands do you have most objections?’ The sum of the relevant percentages of two parties is called the index of the extent of aversion between two parties. The remainder after subtraction of the two percentages is called the index of the direction of aversion between two parties. On the basis of closed questions directed to the voters of a particular party, on their images of that party, their reasons for voting to that party, a typology of Dutch political parties is developed. The types are: principle parties (KVP, ARP, CHU, SGP, GPV), interest parties (PvdA, VVD, BP, CPN) leader parties (KVP, ARP, VVD, GPV), traditional parties (KVP, CHU, SGP), nonpolitical parties (CHU, BP) effective political parties (PvdA) and international political parties (PSP, CPN). Other data on several kinds of perceptions of voters concerning patties are added. Show less
