Does location matter? How MPs in the German multilevel system have responded to the Querdenker protests

Many European countries witnessed massive protests after governments adopted measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike other protest movements that aim to convince governments to take action (for instance, against climate change or racism), the participants of COVID-19 protests are directly attacking the legitimacy of recently adopted governmental measures. These protests provide an opportunity to study the following questions: In how far do electoral district, party affiliation, and strategic incentives influence the likelihood of politicians' engagement with the Querdenker movement? And to what extent are some politicians more responsive to major protest events of the Querdenker movement than other politicians? We draw from existing research from the social movement literature emphasizing protest as control of political decision-making. Combining this research strand with studies on the MPs' issue attention and rhetorical responsiveness, we explain response patterns between and diversity within different parties. We analyze German parties' and politicians' reactions using parliamentary debates and the MPs' Tweets for daily updated data on the individual level covering the period from the beginning of the pandemic until the end of 2020. To quantify these reactions, we measure the issue attention and rhetorical responsiveness to COVID-19 protests through quantitative text analysis. Our findings have important implications for the social movement literature as they imply that protest location is a decisive factor for raising political attention. Furthermore, party ideology and strategic party considerations are explanatory factors for issue attention to the Querdenker movement.