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https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2022.5
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The Self-Proclaimed Defender of Freedom: The AfD and the Pandemic
[journal article]
Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged nearly every aspect of life and superseded issues at the core of populist radical right (PRR) parties' ideology, dispossessing them of one of their main narratives. This also challenged the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a relatively young but strong PRR party in... view more
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged nearly every aspect of life and superseded issues at the core of populist radical right (PRR) parties' ideology, dispossessing them of one of their main narratives. This also challenged the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a relatively young but strong PRR party in opposition. We explore how the party has adjusted its policy supply to this unprecedented situation and how this has affected its popularity among German voters, building our analysis on press releases issued by the AfD between January 2020 and March 2021, vote intention data and recent election results. Initially, the party's reaction was inconsistent, but from autumn 2020 the AfD focused on fuelling discontent with the government's lockdown measures, acting as a supporter of the anti-coronavirus demonstrations. It framed its response as elite critique. So far, its siding with the lockdown protesters, however, has not had any positive effect on support for the party.... view less
Keywords
political right; populism; opinion formation; voting behavior; Federal Republic of Germany
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
AfD; COVID-19; political parties; press releases
Document language
English
Publication Year
2022
Page/Pages
p. 1-19
Journal
Government and Opposition: An International Journal of Comparative Politics (2022) FirstView Articles
ISSN
1477-7053
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed