The Internet and European Parliamentary Democracy: A Comparative Study of the Ethics of Political Communication in the Digital Age by Xiudian Dai & Philip Norton

Author:Xiudian Dai & Philip Norton [Dai, Xiudian & Norton, Philip]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General, Political Process, Campaigns & Elections, Comparative Politics
ISBN: 9781317991168
Google: WanaAAAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 18564952
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2013-09-13T00:00:00+00:00

Note: Average of a scale from 0 (no use of email), 1 (1–25), 2 (26–50), 3 (51–100), 4 (101–200), 5 (more than 200). The higher the average, the higher the number of emails received per day.

FIGURE 4

USE OF THE INTERNET AS A WORKI NG TOOL (ALL FOUR PARLIAMENTS)

IMPACT OF ICTS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARLIAMENT AND CITIZENS

The openness in relation to ICTs is particularly clear in the way this has affected the relationship with citizens. The interviews revealed the satisfaction MPs feel in the development of a closer contact with citizens. The AR is characterised by a distant relationship with citizens.18 In a proportional representation system that puts emphasis on the party as the main unit of representation, a lack of contact between MPs and citizens is to be expected. This is particularly clear in the Portuguese parliament where the MP mandate is, according to the Constitution, a national one; electoral districts are seen as a mere administrative division of the country, not as ‘constituencies’ as such. But the Internet has introduced a new channel of opportunities in the relationship with citizens.

All of the MPs we interviewed confirmed that the use of email has led to more people getting in touch with them. Several MPs said that citizens did not really get in touch with them before email. This may well be because most communication would have been directed to the PG instead of the MP. The interviews also confirmed that email is the preferred means of communication by citizens, whereas pressure groups still prefer a more formal type of communication through printed letter. MPs showed interest and satisfaction in this influx of communication from citizens, as the following quotes illustrate:

• ‘the use of emails allows to establish relationships between people (…) (and) email encourages communication with us’;

• ‘I like to communicate with citizens by email’;

• ‘from citizens we do get quite a few emails (directed personally to me), to compliment what we said or to criticise (…) sometimes they even actually give specific suggestions I think this is when it becomes really interesting and I really like this feedback’.

Several MPs gave examples of specific parliamentary initiatives which were followed up by citizens communicating with them. This would be unlikely to happen if email did not exist, as most printed communication is channelled through the PGs. Even the MP from the PCP (a heavily centralised party) showed great satisfaction in the communication with citizens and gave examples of the way a closer contact with citizens had developed, thanks to email. MPs liked in particular the informality and ease of communication that comes with email. Portuguese MPs tend to answer all emails personally, as they do not have secretarial support for this. They acknowledged that this might not be possible in a few years if the influx of emails increases.

Despite the recognition of the value of ICTs in the relationship with citizens, the web presence of Portuguese MPs is poor. As mentioned above, the AR’s website includes a system of personal websites (PagParl).

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