This article examines the role of interest mobilization in strengthening or weakening congruence between elected representatives and citizens on EU policy issues. It argues that the relationship between public opinion, interest groups and elected politicians can be theorized as a selective transmission process. We expect interest groups to strengthen congruence between citizens and elected representatives who share their ideological views. To test our hypotheses we conducted a content analysis of statements made in eight European news outlets on a sample of 13 policy issues and combined this with Eurobarometer polls. Our results indicate that elected representatives from leftist parties are more congruent with left-wing voters when civil society mobilizes, while the prevalence of corporate lobby groups strengthens congruence between rightist politicians and their constituents. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of interest groups in political representation and democratic governance.

中文翻译：

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对一致性的祝福还是诅咒？How Interest Mobilization Affects Congruence between Citizens and Elected Representatives

This article examines the role of interest mobilization in strengthening or weakening congruence between elected representatives and citizens on EU policy issues. 它认为，舆论、利益集团和民选政客之间的关系可以被理论化为一个选择性的传播过程。我们期望利益集团加强公民与具有相同意识形态观点的民选代表之间的一致性。为了检验我们的假设，我们对 8 个欧洲新闻媒体就 13 个政策问题的样本所做的陈述进行了内容分析，并将其与欧洲晴雨表的民意调查相结合。我们的结果表明，当公民社会动员起来时，左翼政党的民选代表与左翼选民更加一致，而企业游说团体的盛行加强了右翼政客与其选民之间的一致性。这些发现有助于我们理解利益集团在政治代表和民主治理中的作用。