Finally, given the many citizens who distrust parties, yet continue to vote
for one of the mainstream political parties – primarily the opposition – we
might ask whether this reflects actual support for the specific opposition
parties, or a continuous rejection of incumbents regardless of who holds
power. If the latter is the case, then it implies that party distrust is, in fact, a
general indictment of all parties. Moreover, it suggests that anti-party
sentiment increases voter volatility, and hence directly contributes to the
weakening of partisan attachments.
Employing data from national election studies in five countries that
included the CSES party image question, we examine whether party images
contribute to voter volatility. Figure 2 plots the percentage that voted for a
different party in two adjacent elections by the belief that parties care what
people think. The relationships show that distrust in parties stimulates a
marked increase in voter volatility. Among Canadians, for example, only 10
per cent who trust parties voted for a different party in the previous election,
compared with 45 per cent among the most distrustful respondents. It
appears, then, that dissatisfied citizens contribute to the growing segment of
floating voters in advanced industrial democracies. Even when they vote for
mainstream parties, these parties cannot depend on them for sustained
support.