2005/03/01 by Anthony J. McGann, Herbert Kitschelt · 198 citations
Social Sciences · #Populism, Right-Wing Movements #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #German legal, social, and political studies #Appeal #Radical right #Mainstream #Competitor analysis #Political science #Limiting #Political economy #Law #Politics #Sociology #Economics #Management
paper · doi:10.1177/1354068805049734
published in Party Politics 11(2), 147-171 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2005/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/02
The Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the Swiss People's Party (SVP) in 1999 became the only far-right parties in post-war Western Europe to outpoll their mainstream conservative competitors. As such, they are limiting cases and yield a great deal of information about the development and prospects for the far-right in Europe. We analyze the evolution and success of these parties, using survey data to track their changing electorates. We find that the FPÖ and SVP have evolved into the typical profile of ‘new radical-right’ parties in terms of their appeal and supporters. However, they have also been able to appeal to a broader electorate, which in part explains their success.