Inequality, disinterest and mistrust: abstention in the legislative elections of 1999

Abstract

The analysis of the abstention in the legislative elections of 1999 reveals an approximation to the pattern common to the majority of occidental democracies: the absence of a direct impact on individuals' economic and educational resources and a considerable age and family isolation effect on electoral participation. However, what was more important was the impact of political attitudes. The abstention in 1999 was a socially diffuse phenomenon, but concentrated among electors who share attitudes that are generally seen as stable and enduring: non-party membership and mistrust of the political system.