Centre for Public Policy
Try on a Party!
politika.lv special offer for
the election’s season
Krista Baumane
Development Director of PROVIDUS
About politika.lv and PROVIDUS
ƒ politika.lv – a popular and influential
public policy resource and e-participation
tool, on-line since 2001
ƒ Institutionally, part of PROVIDUS – a
“think-and-do-tank” in Latvia, established
in 2002
Krista Baumane
www.providus.lv
Strasbourg, June 2008
Try on a Party! history
ƒ an on-line tool enabling users to compare
their views on select issues with those of
political parties
ƒ first designed by politika.lv for general
elections in 2002
ƒ up-dated and adapted versions for the
elections to the EP in 2004, general
elections in 2006
Krista Baumane
www.providus.lv
Strasbourg, June 2008
The political environment
ƒ Party programs are weak/not significantly
different, therefore no real choice
ƒ Politicians views often are in contradiction
with the party programs
ƒ Excessive “migration” of leading politicians
between parties
Krista Baumane
www.providus.lv
Strasbourg, June 2008
Try on a Party! contents
ƒ 15-17 statements, generated by the target
audience in a heterogenous focus group
ƒ Selection of statements with high bi-polar
attitude, testing for clarity
ƒ Obtaining the answers from top 5
candidates of the political parties
ƒ Display of results on 4 scales, grouped
through the method of factor analyses
Krista Baumane
www.providus.lv
Strasbourg, June 2008
2,00
National
authoritarianism
1,00
Everyday
liberalism
Short vs. long term
perspective
0,00
Role
of the state:
Stick or carrot
-1,00
-2,00
-3,00
i
S vija
ZZ L a t
su
Vi NK ja
N ti
/ L ar rs
TB s P e n t
a
ut s C
Ta ņa
a
sk
Sa
L
TV
PC
SP
D
LS
LC
ti
P/
rā
LP
ok
em
D
JL ie
un
Ja n e
te
m
zi
D
Krista Baumane
www.providus.lv
Political parties
Strasbourg, June 2008
How is T.O.P different?
ƒ Politicians are made to respond to the
public agenda
ƒ Party positions calculated based on
individual responses by politicians
ƒ minimising of a spin-doctoring effect
ƒ scales indicating deviation of opinion within a
party
ƒ By-product: a political party compatibility
map
Krista Baumane
www.providus.lv
Strasbourg, June 2008
Factor: Everyday Liberalism
example of deviation of individual opinions
4,00
2,00
0,00
-2,00
-4,00
i
S
ija
Z Z at v
L
su
Vi NK
N rtija
/L
s
a
T B s P nt r
e
a
ut s C
T a ņa
a
sk
Sa L
TV
PC P
S
D
LS
LC
P/
ti
rā
LP
ok
em
D
JL
ie
un
Ja e n e
t
im
Dz
partijas
Krista Baumane
www.providus.lv
Strasbourg, June 2008
T.O.P. versions/adaptations
ƒ For elections to the EP, the statements
were produced by expert focus group and
through analyses of pre-EU-accession
opinion polls
ƒ Addition of two extras in 2006: ranging
priorities for the next Parliament/govt and
evaluation criteria for a politician
ƒ Not yet used for municipal elections
Krista Baumane
www.providus.lv
Strasbourg, June 2008
Development and contacts:
ƒ public policy website politika.lv
Krista Baumane, krista@providus.lv
ƒ authors of the implementation method:
Roberts Kilis, M.Phil., PhD (Cantab.)
Ivars Austers, PhD (University of Stockholm)
Krista Baumane
www.providus.lv
Strasbourg, June 2008