In order to make an informed decision, it is important for voters to know what positions political parties adopt. Political parties use a wide range of channels to communicate their positions to potential voters such as manifestos, speeches or social media. However, how these statements are perceived by the voter in terms of ideological position and credibility is not always clear. I argue that voters perceive party statements with regard to these quantities of interest differently depending on their own ideological position. This relationship is, however, mediated by the institutional context in which the statement was made and the voter’s political interest and trust. Thus, this study combines in-group or out-group perception research with literature on the influence of institutional context on the credibility of statements.

Using a survey experiment in Germany, I examine in a vignette design the extent to which the perception of party statements changes when the respective party and context are known or unknown. I analyze the extent to which the evaluation of the respective statements (perception of position and trust) depends on the participant’s political positions in relation to the party and in what context (e.g. speech in parliament or extract from party manifesto) the statement was said. The survey also offers the opportunity to control not only for the respective party preference of the participants, but also for relevant demographic data, political interest and trust in institutions. The results of this study have important implications for the effects of party communication and voter perception.