Opinion polls, Political Elites and Party Competition in Post-Communist Bulgaria

Abstract

This article examines the role of opinion polls in East European countries, and assesses the impact that they have had on the general processes of political democratisation there since the collapse of communism.Certainly, opinion polls have taken a high-profile role in political affairs in these countries over the course of the last decade. Policy-makers, politicians and political parties made much use of polls in the early years of democratic transition, although for various reasons they were received with significant scepticism by each of these users and by citizens alike. This article compares recent research with earlier studies on the use of polls by political elites in countries seeking to consolidate democracy. From recent in-depth interviews conducted with national politicians in Bulgaria, I draw upon a number of examples to examine the ways in which political parties and elites use opinion polls, and their intentions for doing so.When George Gallup first pioneered the use of opinion polling in the USA, he did so with the intention that it would serve to enhance and extend democratic processes and practices by providing a channel through which citizens could participate in political affairs.1 He advocated a 'populist' notion of government, in which voters would have a significant input into decisionmaking. He claimed that opinion polls could provide a useful means through which this might be achieved, by objectively measuring the views of voters, and then communicating these to elected