The personalization of partisan attachments in the Second Italian Republic

This paper investigates the individual-level determinants of partisan attachments in the Second Italian Republic. Based on the marked personalisation of the political supply in the last two decades, our hypothesis is that there has been a shift in the ground on which psychological feelings of closeness to parties are based from prior socio-ideological identities to individual attitudes towards party leaders. The hypothesis is tested through a number of statistical analyses of ITANES post-election survey data. Our findings highlight the constantly growing part played by leader evaluations in shaping individuals’ feelings of closeness to parties, as compared to other potential determinants of partisan attachment.