Populist parties on both the radical right and left of the political spectrum in Europe have made considerable electoral gains over the last decade, but they have done so using notably different approaches. We draw on recent election data to show the extent to which the radical right has tended to outperform the radical left since the late-2000s financial crisis in national parliamentary elections. The data suggest that the populist radical right has been able to offer a clearer message on key issues such as immigration which has translated into greater electoral success.
Twenty-first century European politics has been characterised by patterns of electoral volatility, alongside the recent economic crisis and ongoing crises over refugees. This has allowed ‘populist’ parties on both the right and left to capitalise on the electoral failure of mainstream centre left and right parties.
There has been a considerable amount of research on the recent rise of populist radical right and populist radical left parties. A number of studies have shown that during times of economic and political crisis, these parties have shaken up the political landscape in contemporary European politics. But surprisingly few studies have examined the electoral fortunes of radical right and left parties together.
