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The work studies the relationship between party ideology and implemented policies, using data on Italian municipalities. In order to identify the causal effect of party ideology, the paper exploits the random allocation of parties on the ballot paper and the ``ballot order effect''. The arrangement of symbols on the ballot determines a focal party, which receives on average 4\% share of additional votes within coalition. Results show that parties largely respect their electoral promises. When parties receives a random premium of additional votes, they shift spending and taxation to address the policies included in their political manifesto. In particular, the Left Party (Rifondazione Comunista) increases spending in education, culture and in social welfare. When the Populist-Right Party Lega Nord) is treated, it increases spending in police and justice. Finally, evidence shows that the Center-Right Party (Forza Italia) decreases local taxes, which mostly include the house property tax (ICI).
