3 - The Supply Side: Mainstream Right Party Policy Positions in a Changing Political Space in Western Europe

Summary

This chapter investigates how mainstream right parties have shifted their policy positions since the 1980s. Facing a changing political space and the double pressure of the silent revolution and counter-revolution, mainstream right parties need to strategically reposition themselves in order to stay electorally relevant. We argue that mainstream right parties have increasingly shifted their position in order to appeal to more culturally conservative working-class voters. We analyse mainstream right party strategies beyond the two super dimensions (left–right and liberal–authoritarian) and describe their movements on four issue dimensions: investment versus consumption; traditional morality; immigration; and European integration. We additionally show how mainstream right parties react to the success of populist radical right parties and demonstrate that a significant reaction to radical right success is only present in the case of immigration issues.