Populism equals the support for social democratic parties in Europe

One in four European voters support an authoritarian populist party, according to the new edition of the Timbro Authoritarian Populism Index presented today.

Populism equals the support for Social democratic parties
Authoritarian populists in Europe are gaining ground. 71 million, equivalent to 26.8 percent, of Europe's 264 million eligible voters chose to vote for a authoritarian populist party last time they voted in a national election.

– Populism has established itself as the third ideological force in European politics. The combined support for left- and right-wing populist parties now equals the support for Social democratic parties and is twice the size of support for liberal parties. It is a historic shift that we are seeing. Unlike three to four years ago, left-wing populist parties have stagnated and the current growth is solely explained by growing support for right-wing populist parties, says Andreas Johansson Heinö, publisher at Timbro and author of the Timbro Authoritarian Populism Index.

The most comprehensive index of populism in Europe
The Timbro Authoritarian Populism Index (TAP) is based on election data from national elections stretching back to 1980. The study covers a total of 267 parties, in 300 elections in a total of 33 countries during the period 1980-2018. This makes TAP the most comprehensive index of populism in Europe.

– Authoritarian populist parties are characterized by the fact that they see politics as a conflict between the "elite" and a homogeneous people with coherent interests. These parties have an authoritarian view of democracy that threatens many of the values that so far have been at the heart of European democracy, says Andreas Johansson Heinö.

A new interactive site
A novelty this year is that all the election data has been made available online. Andreas Johansson Heinö hopes that the new site will be a useful tool for journalists and researchers.

– During this spring, both European Parliament elections and national elections in for example Spain, Denmark and Finland await. We already know that populist parties will be at the center of the media reporting. The index puts today's development into perspective, says Andreas Johansson Heinö.

Visit www.populismindex.com to download the report and access the data

For more information contact

Andreas Johansson Heinö, PhD in political science, publisher at Timbro
Twitter: @JohanssonHeino
Email: andreas.johansson.heino@timbro.se
Telephone: 073-596 72 08