2019/02/12 by Caroline Close, Pascal Delwit · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Political and Economic history of UK and US
paper · doi:10.4324/9781351245500-15
openalex created_date 2018/11/29 · openalex publication_date 2019/02/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
In terms of electoral performances and electoral sociology, liberal parties display diverging configurations across Europe. To get a better overview of their fate, this chapter first examines the electoral dynamics of liberal parties across specific spatial ‘blocs’. It examines the individual-level determinants of the liberal party vote, and questions the distinctiveness of the liberal electorate across Europe. Historically, the liberal parties of the Benelux countries competed primarily on the church-state cleavage against the Catholic parties. The 2014 European election was disastrous. In the follow-up, the Free Democratic Party lost representation in the Landers of Bavaria, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia. At its first election, Neue Osterreich attracted around 5% of the vote and subsequently captured 8.1% of the vote and one seat at the 2014 European elections. For this new party, the most difficult task lies ahead: to confirm these results and to impose itself in the long run against the Freedom Party of Austria.