Communicating a common front: mainstream party rhetoric and affective polarisation towards the radical right

Abstract

Does mainstream party rhetoric explain affective polarisation towards the radical right? Extant work documents a pronounced affective divide between mainstream and radical right voters. Yet, the origins of this divide remain largely unknown. This article investigates negative rhetoric by mainstream parties as a predictor of affective polarisation towards the radical right. It argues that signals of a ‘common front’–coordinated negative rhetoric against the radical right by all mainstream parties–drive voters’ affective evaluations. The article combines an analysis of elite discourse and public opinion data from Germany, with a novel measure of targeted negative elite rhetoric, as well as causal evidence from an experiment. The analysis identifies a correlation between negative rhetoric from all mainstream parties and affective polarisation towards the radical right. Experimental tests of the previously identified rhetoric yield further evidence that cross-party messages contribute to affective polarisation. These findings underscore the importance of coordinated mainstream party action in shaping public responses to radical right challengers.