Right-Wing Party Competition in Europe: The Electoral Strategies of the Far Right during Crises

Far Right parties appear to be updating their electoral strategies throughout the series of crises from the 2008-2013 economic crisis, the 2015-2018 refugee crisis, and onto the 2020-present COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst a focus on the key issue dimension of immigration as an electoral strategy continues to serve as the raison d’etre of far right politics, newer strategies are being introduced to mobilise supporters, such as the post-materialist issue of environmentalism (i.e.: eco-nationalism), with increasing success. We therefore ask to what extent are far right party strategies in Europe being updated across these crises and does this translate into electoral success for far right parties? Using both qualitative case studies and quantitative analysis, we examine far right parties’ electoral strategies in Western Europe (Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and France) and Central-Eastern Europe (Hungary and Poland). Our preliminary evidence identifies both the evolving strategies of modern far right parties in three different ‘crisis’ situations and that these ‘crises’ create distinct and unique political opportunities for the far right party family to benefit from electorally.