The Electoral Supporter Base of the Alternative for Germany

Abstract

Using data from a recent nationwide survey, we provide the first analysis of the supporter base of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) since the party's split and ideological re-orientation in mid-2015. Hypotheses are derived from the literature on Populist Radical Right Parties (PRRPs) in Western Europe. Our findings indicate that AfD support—despite the party's euro crisis origins and rapid organizational and ideational changes—is by now due to largely the same set of socio-economic, attitudinal and contextual factors proven important for PRRP parties elsewhere. Right-wing political attitudes concerning immigration, political distrust, fears of personal economic decline, as well as gender and socialisation effects are the most relevant explanatory variables. However, some of our findings – the importance of right-wing economic policy preferences, the strong support by certain immigrant groups, and the role of the long-term regional political context – stand out and distinguish the AfD from other Western European PRRPs.