Old Voters on New Dimensions:Why Do Voters Vote for Pensioners' Parties? The Case of the Netherlands

This article analyzes the electoral support of the Dutch pensioners' party 50Plus. Due to its open electoral system and aging population, the Netherlands is a key case to study pensioners' parties. Our study shows that this pensioners' party appeals to voters who are characterized by their age and their dependence on the welfare state as well as their policy positions on new lines of political conflict. In particular, their position on the new economic dimension (which concerns welfare state reform) and the new cultural dimension (which concerns immigration and EU integration) is distinct. Mor... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Otjes, Simon
Krouwel, Andre
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2018
Reihe/Periodikum: Otjes , S & Krouwel , A 2018 , ' Old Voters on New Dimensions : Why Do Voters Vote for Pensioners' Parties? The Case of the Netherlands ' , Journal of Aging and Social Policy , vol. 30 , no. 1 , pp. 24-47 . https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2017.1363589
Schlagwörter: Economic issues / generational politics / new political parties / The Netherlands / CHOICE
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-29192599
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://hdl.handle.net/11370/dead0532-a2a6-4621-9ec5-b9ea5e8a91b7

This article analyzes the electoral support of the Dutch pensioners' party 50Plus. Due to its open electoral system and aging population, the Netherlands is a key case to study pensioners' parties. Our study shows that this pensioners' party appeals to voters who are characterized by their age and their dependence on the welfare state as well as their policy positions on new lines of political conflict. In particular, their position on the new economic dimension (which concerns welfare state reform) and the new cultural dimension (which concerns immigration and EU integration) is distinct. Moreover, even when the majority of voters for this new party once supported the larger mainstream parties, they are now dissatisfied with the established politics. With rapidly aging populations across established democracies, this study is not just relevant for those studying pensioners' parties, but rather gives an important insight into the electoral dynamics and popular support for mainstream politics, the welfare state, and social security.