Choosing Whom to Betray:Populist Right-Wing Parties, Welfare State Reforms and the Trade-Off Between Office and Votes

This article analyses the impact of populist right-wing parties (PRWPs) on welfare state reforms in Western Europe in the light of the trade-off that they face between office and votes. On the one hand, PRWPs appeal to traditionally left-leaning blue-collar “insiders” supportive of social insurance schemes. On the other hand, they have only been able to take part in government as junior coalition partners with liberal or conservative parties who are more likely to retrench these very same welfare programs. In this context, the article argues that these parties have to choose between betraying... Mehr ...