Three particular useful heuristics for issue-specific competence are: competence on other issues (Green and Jennings, 2012a); the importance of the issue to the party and the position it takes; and party attachment in general (Rahn et al., 1994).
Edwards argued that the lessons of Aberfan were still of profound relevance today because they touched "on issues of public accountability, responsibility, competence and transparency".
Voter perceptions of party competence on specific issues have become an important way of explaining electoral choices and election outcomes.
Given the perceived importance of competence to vote choice and party competition, measuring voter assessments of party competence on key issues has become commonplace in election surveys.
First, respondents may use their evaluation of general party competence to guide their opinion about specific party competence on other issues (Green and Jennings, 2012a: p. 315).
Another possible option is to give respondents the explicit option of saying that they do not know or have no opinion regarding party competence on an issue.
The assignment of powers, or "competences" in Euro-speak, is so vague in this draft constitution that on issue after issue the conventioneers themselves cannot explain what their text means.
We asked Group B three types of questions about party competence on two specific issues, immigration and education.
But the setbacks have also focused attention on issues of competence and whether the government is failing to adequately execute what amounts to a sweeping counterinsurgency effort.
Often considered dry and pedantic, Mr. Stoiber, who is from Bavaria, hopes to ride the rightward mood in Europe to victory, concentrating on issues like economic competence and stricter controls on immigration, which have been important in recent elections in France and the Netherlands.
