ABSTRACT
Political representation studies have contributed to the analysis of the quality of contemporary democracies. MPs (and prospective MPs) and mass surveys developed from a comparative perspective have expanded the scope and focus of research, particularly the link between the masses and political elite. This chapter has a twofold purpose. First, there is a brief review of the latest developments in terms of the data produced and methodologies used in political representation studies conducted in Portugal, like the Comparative Candidates Survey. Second, we examine findings on three substantive themes: descriptive parliamentary representation (age, sex, education, social capital and political experience); citizens’ political attitudes and behaviour towards the political system (political legitimacy, political trust and political engagement or satisfaction with democracy, trust in institutions, political interest and political participation); and voter–MP congruence on socio-economic issues (policy representation along the usual issues associated with left–right ideology). Finally, we seek to pinpoint the changes between the periods before and after the Great Recession in terms of descriptive representation, system legitimation and policy – ideological linkage functions between voters and their representatives.
