Abstract
To understand parliamentary representation, it is necessary to look both at work in parliament and at MPs’ activities in their constituency. In France and Germany, the district is important for four main reasons: candidates are nominated there, MPs are elected, districts play a role in political decision-making and provide a forum for political communication. However, there is considerable variety in the details, leading to different incentives for MPs in the two countries. Accordingly, expectations about MP behavior are checked with empirical data from CITREP observations and interviews. This shows that, in their district work, German MPs act as information seekers with a clear focus on party work, while French MPs act more like political entrepreneurs who are strongly influenced by their “cumul des mandats”.
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Notes
- 1.
Some data and arguments from this chapter on the German case have been reported in Siefken 2013.
- 2.
Survey of 1553 citizens in Germany, random sample, for this question in Germany: N = 1016.
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Siefken, S.T., Costa, O. (2018). Available, Accessible and Ready to Listen: MPs’ District Work. In: Gabriel, O., Kerrouche, E., Schüttemeyer, S. (eds) Political Representation in France and Germany. New Perspectives in German Political Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72029-6_3
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