Elections and emotions: voting right-wing populist in Austria
By: Mateusz Leszczynski, Sinan Nadarevic, Jennifer Fitzgerald
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Right wing populist voters are characterized by high levels of anger, according to previous work. In this paper, we explore the emotional dimensions of electoral behavior with an eye toward improving our understanding of the ways that voting for right wing populist parties (RWPPs) makes people feel. Panel survey data surrounding the 2017 Austrian national election reveal that before the election Freedom Party (FPÖ) voters are the angriest about politics in comparison to mainstream party voters. However, FPÖ voters experience a significant reduction in political anger from the pre-election period to the post-election period. These RWPP adherents also become less anxious, more hopeful, and more confident regarding Austrian politics in the aftermath of a relatively successful electoral showing by their party. Center-left voters, whose party experienced a disappointing electoral outcome, become politically angrier, more anxious, less hopeful, and less confident after the election. This study leverages research on the emotional terrain of radical right politics and stock theories of electoral behavior to better understand voters, their feelings, and prospects for democratic legitimacy.