Every voter is one person and in all parliamentary systems I just vote for representatives/parties that push the opinion I want. This isn’t different from any other issue.
> ... in all parliamentary systems I just vote for representatives/parties that push the opinion I want.
... on perhaps one or two hot-button issues. You won't find any "representative" which actually represents you on more than a few issues (at best), so voters have to prioritize—and then the winners go on to vote on their constituents' behalf on many other issues which weren't major talking points during the elections, in effect representing only themselves.
You're right that this isn't different from (almost) any other issue. It's a real problem for any issue that isn't right at the top of the priority list.
Indeed - you won’t find a party (even in ten-party democracies) that represent you on every issue. In a two party system it’s obviously almost impossible.
If there are 5-10 parties then there is usually at least a neighboring party that you can switch to if your pet issue isn’t correctly handled by the party you regularly vote for. It’s also a lot easier to steer the opinion of a 10-15% party than a 50% party (with the obvious downside that even if the 10% party forms a government, it will be a coalition where it only has 1:5 weight)
Are you really going to switch to another party which is even further from your own position on several issues which are at least as critical just so that you can get some representation (from a fringe party with little actual influence) on an item further down the list?
Any party you choose is going to vote against you interests in some area, abusing your endorsement to back policies you disagree with. The ability to switch to another party which represents you even less apart from one "pet issue" which might not be your highest priority doesn't change that.
