| OCR Text |
Show 104 = -.623) and have a more net positive position on the EU (r = .377). 25 While most of the relatively strong and statistically significant correlations found in Table 8 confirm existing knowledge or are logical, like those presented on EU members and niche parties, a few are more puzzling. For example, both air pollution emissions and carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions are correlated with the number of seats held by niche parties in the European Parliament: r = .496 and r = .671, respectively. These are both positive, meaning that higher levels of emissions are associated with more seats for niche parties in the European Parliament. While I could understand these environmental conditions impacting the percent of the vote a niche party receives in European Parliament elections, which would translate into seats, having the conditions directly correlated with seats, and skipping the percent of the vote, seems more farfetched. This finding, however, will be confirmed with future analysis and models. In sum, the strategic independent variables had more statistically significant correlations and stronger relationships with the percent of the vote dependent variable and "nicheness" of mainstream parties dependent variable. In particular, options available to niche parties such as electoral alliances, participation in a governing coalition, and how dedicated niche parties remain to their "big" issue are all aspects that emerged as statistically significant, if not always in the expected direction. This strengthens my point about the necessity of including niche party strategy - niche party success is not wholly dependent on mainstream parties and niche agency needs to be included. At the same time, few of the socioeconomic and institutional factors, with the exception of institutions and the seats dependent variable, were statistically significant. While this is only bivariate analysis, it does seem to support the points raised in Chapter 25 On the left-right scale, -100 is very left and 100 is very right. |
