PUBLIC PARTY FUNDING AND THE SCHEMES OF MICE AND MEN - THE 1992 ELECTIONS IN ISRAEL

A main aim of public party funding was to present parties with opportu nities to participate on equal terms in public debate and to finance t heir ability to represent the general public. However, its impact on p arty communication and on party-voter contacts is a neglected aspect o f research in the field. This paper suggests a disparity between inten tions and consequences, mirroring that observed in the effects of publ ic party funding on party expenditure, inter-party competition and par ty structure. This is illustrated by a case study of campaign finances and party communication in Israel since the inception of public party funding, with special attention to the 1992 elections, in which it sp urred a shift to a 'top-bottom' model of campaigning and to a concentr ation on the system management and ritualistic dimensions of electoral communications. It came at the expense of messages geared to enlist s upport for alternative prospective policies. The ensuing party-voter r ifts and the effort to bridge them by reforming public party funding m ay throw light on the problematics of public party funding in western democracies and on the progress towards what have recently been termed cartel parties.