2 - The Demand Side: Profiling the Electorate of the Mainstream Right in Western Europe since the 2000s

Summary

This chapter maps the development of the electorate of the mainstream right (and its subfamilies) in Western Europe between 2002 and 2016 based on the European Social Survey. It does so in terms of sociodemographics (education, income, occupation, age and gender) and attitudes (immigration, European integration, moral issues and redistribution). Special attention is given to factors setting the mainstream right electorate apart from that of the populist radical right. The chapter shows that the mainstream right electorate has a rather stable and broad social base, (still) characterized above all by (higher status) occupations and income levels rather than by education. In terms of attitudes, too, economic conservativism remains a stronger predictor than views on cultural issues. These and other chapter findings suggest that, despite underlying shifts in Western European social structure and party competition, the mainstream right’s electoral coalition shows a relatively high level of resilience.