ABSTRACT
People considers the consequences of government participation for populists in electoral terms and the extent to which they managed to deliver on their key election pledges while in office. This chapter covers the three parties in turn first the Lega Nord (LN-Northern League), then the Popolo Della Liberta (PDL-People of Freedom), and finally, the Schweizerische Volkspartei (SVP-Swiss People's Party). It starts by discussing what members and representatives thought of the experience of their party in government, and then explains how they assessed its relationship with its government partners. The alliance between the two parties was also regarded as advantageous by PDL respondents. The chapter discusses whether failure was perceived within the PDL itself and shows how respondents saw their party's relationship with the LN. It presents several key findings of people research, and explores contradicts of the common stereotypical representation of the members and representatives of populist parties.
