But have radical right populist parties been successful in attracting less conservative voters? In a recent study, I find evidence that we should answer this question with an emphatic “yes”. Emblematic of this shift, the Alternative for Germany’s Nicole Höchst recently stated, “I believe we are the only party in Germany who is really fighting for women’s rights”. Previously patriarchal parties now discuss women’s and LGBT rights as being fundamental to Europe’s identity.
Once the electoral home of working-class men, disillusioned with the decline of industry and the rapid entry of women into the labour force, the radical right of the mid-2010s has rebranded in the face of a new enemy – Muslim immigration. Today’s European radical right is rife with contradiction. She finds evidence that there has been a particularly striking increase in the number of radical right voters who also support gender equality and LGBT rights.
Drawing on a new study, Caroline Marie Lancaster writes that this assumption should now be reassessed. The typical radical right voter is often assumed to be older and male, with conservative views on women’s and LGBT rights.
