Measuring political representation in Italy: A VAA-based analysis of the 2022 election

This paper investigates the representativeness of Italian parties and the party system during the 2022 general election by examining policy congruence between political parties and their potential voters. Using original Voting Advice Application (VAA) data from Navigatore Politico, the study assesses both collective representation (overall alignment between the party system and the electorate) and dyadic representation (correspondence between individual parties and their supporters). Factor analysis reveals that Italian politics is increasingly shaped by identity and value-based conflicts rather than traditional left/right or materialist/post-materialist dimensions, with a primary cleavage emerging between domestic/national and supranational/international orientations. The collective representation analysis shows significant misalignment between party platforms and voter preferences, particularly on European integration issues where parties demonstrate lower polarization than voters. Dyadic representation varies considerably across parties, with most maintaining reasonable congruence with their supporters, though notable exceptions exist. These findings demonstrate the complexity of contemporary Italian political representation and suggest an evolution from Inglehart’s materialist framework towards more identity-oriented and securitarian concerns.