Affective Polarization and Consensus Building Among Parliamentary Elites

Abstract

This article presents evidence that political representatives in Spain exhibit significant levels of affective polarization, drawing on data from a 2022 to 2023 survey of Spanish Members of Parliament (MPs) in the national and regional parliaments. These attitudes, measured by affective social distance from supporters of other parties, hinder parliamentary agreements but only in regional parliaments, a tendency that is especially visible among leftist and nationalist representatives toward supporters of the new radical right-wing party (VOX). By contrast, there is no evidence that affective social affinity is associated with less consensual attitudes. Given the absence of studies on affective polarization among political elites, these findings are important because they suggest that, although elites might contribute to the growing trends of pernicious polarization among their supporters and may deteriorate compromise at the regional level, this kind of polarization does not necessarily preclude consensus and agreement in national politics.