Pushed to the Edge: Sub-National Variations in Extreme Right-Wing Support in Austria

Abstract:

Embracing populist rhetoric, an anti-immigration platform and the reversal of the Islamization of western societies, several European extreme right parties have attracted numerous votes over the past two decades. This trend is particularly visible in Austria, where the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) won almost a third of all votes nationwide in 2008. What explains this outpouring of popular support for the Austrian extreme right? Using pooled time-series analysis of all 121 administrative districts (Bezirke) for all post 1990 general elections as well as all 43 political districts (Regionalwahlkreise) for the same period, we examine eight district-level structural indicators, which are commonly associated with extreme right-wing support: center right vote, turnout, unemployment, number of foreigners, population density, percentage of single parent households and a dummy variable for Carinthia, as well as the vote for the moderate left. We find that the extreme right gains are related to the poorer performance of center parties (especially the right) and, to a lesser degree, high voter turnout. Geographically, the extreme right support is highest in more rural areas that have fewer immigrants and high social cohesion.

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