Political representation is a key element of the democratic process because it links citizens’ preferences with policies. The quality of representation should thus be crucial for citizens’ evaluation of how well democracy works in their country. A number of studies confirm that individuals whose policy preferences are reflected in the political debate and in policy outcomes tend to be more satisfied with democracy. Recently, evidence has been provided showing that not only agreement between citizens and representatives in policy positions but also congruence in issue priorities influences how satisfied citizens are with the functioning of democracy. This paper analyses the relationship in a cross-national context, matching voter and candidate survey data from the 2009 European Election Study in order to measure congruence in issue priorities. The multilevel design allows investigating what country-level characteristics, such as electoral institutions and political culture, cause variations in the impact of priority congruence on satisfaction with democracy across countries.
