Watch their attitude! The impact of political attitudes on populist attitudes in populism-in office and populism-in-opposition states

While the total number of democracies worldwide is as high as never before, the world is at the same time confronted with a crisis of democracy. Threats of economic downturns and rising unemployment lead to populist attitudes and discontent with the political systems which seem to fail their citizens. This cannot only be observed in Western Europe in cases like the right-wing populist Rassemblement National in France, but predominantly in the former soviet states of Central Eastern Europe where party systems are not yet institutionalised enough to adequately represent the electorate by established mainstream parties. A focus on Central Eastern Europe also reveals changes in right-wing populist agendas and narratives once a party assumes the government. Political attitudes like loyalty shape political behaviour and manifest in behavioural and attitudinous responses of support for one’s state, its political system, and actors. This study examines whether populist attitudes depend on political attitudes, that is, loyalty towards the political system, the perceived legitimacy of said system, and political efficacy. In a second step it is analysed whether these results differ between states with populism in office and populism in opposition. Online survey data gathered with the Loyalty Questionnaire, the Model of Political Legitimacy Orientation (revised), the Political Efficacy Scale, and the Populism Scale is employed. Multiple regression analyses show a significant influence of political efficacy on populist attitudes in both a populism-in-office and a populism-in-opposition sample. It is concluded that positive experiences in exerting influence on the political process reduces populist attitudes and therefore threats to democratic societies.