Pillarization and Persistence: Explaining Working-Class Resistance to the Far Right in Wallonia

This paper examines why working-class voters in the Belgian region of Wallonia have resisted far-right populism despite economic decline and anti-immigration sentiment. Drawing from a chapter of my dissertation, Realignment and Dealignment of the Working-Class Electorate: A Deviant Case of Far-Right Populism in the Belgian Region of Wallonia, it addresses a relative gap in the literature by focusing on a context where far-right populism has not gained traction, highlighting how the legacy of pillarization continues to shape political behavior. The paper challenges demand-side explanations of far-right support by showing how intermediary organizations and historical partisan legacies mediate economic grievance and immigration attitudes. Contrary to broader Western European trends, Wallonia’s working class remains aligned with the center-left Parti Socialiste (PS). The study draws on 16 semi-structured interviews with representatives of the Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique (FGTB) and the Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens (CSC/ACV), complemented by archival material from the Belgian Workers’ Party, the PS, and Christian labor movements. Findings show that the Catholic, and especially Socialist pillar, reinforce longstanding partisan and linguistic loyalties, sustaining PS support and constraining far-right growth, highlighting the durability of partisan attachments in conditions typically favorable to populist realignment. These findings have broader implications for understanding why far-right populism fails to mobilize working-class voters in Western Europe.