Every Fourth Voter in Europe Votes for Far-Right Parties

A new study has shown that nearly every fourth voter in Europe today votes for far-right parties, that the share of such voters has almost quintupled since the mid-1990s, and that it has particularly increased in the past three years.

An analysis conducted by more than 150 political science researchers in 31 countries showed that the share of Europeans who voted for far-right parties in the most recent national elections exceeded 23 percent, compared to about ten percent ten years ago and five percent in 1995, the British daily The Guardian reported today. 

The research for PopuList, led by Matthijs Rooduijn from the University of Amsterdam, also indicated that today almost 30 percent of Europeans vote for anti-establishment parties, which is another record. 

„When we started the PopuList project in 2018, the key finding was that every fourth European voted for populist parties, mostly far-left and far-right. Today, every fourth votes for far-right parties, mostly populist. That is a major change,“ Rooduijn told The Guardian.

The strengthening of the far right was particularly noticeable between 2023 and 2025, and during that period, far-right parties recorded historic growth in major countries such as France, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

The Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) increased from 16 percent to 29 percent in the 2024 elections, France’s National Rally from 19 to 37 percent and became the single largest party in parliament, in Portugal Chega rose from seven to 18 percent, and in Britain the Reform Party from two percent in 2019 to 14 percent in 2024.

Far-right populist parties are now part of ruling coalitions in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Finland, support a right-wing minority government in Sweden, and, according to the research, are leading in polls in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and Britain.

However, some far-right parties have recently recorded declines, including in the Netherlands, where Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) lost nearly a third of its parliamentary seats last year, and Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz, which was defeated in April. 

The latest PopuList research identified 133 far-right parties in Europe compared to 112 in 2003. As well as 65 European far-left parties, almost all are classified as populist. In total, 201 populist parties were counted, the majority far-right or far-left, compared to 165 in 2003.

There are numerous reasons behind the strengthening of right-wing parties, one of which, as Rooduijn told The Guardian, is that voters’ attitudes on key issues for the far right, such as immigration, have not changed over time but have become even more significant. 

Furthermore, far-right parties have „normalized.“ „The bigger and more successful they are, the more ‘normal’ they become. The media and ‘mainstream’ parties that adopt their ideas help with this,“ Rooduijn said.

Finally, far-right parties are „really, really good storytellers.“ „They know how to formulate their message, which ultimately always relates to an in-group and an out-group – the nation against immigrants, judges, the ‘woke elite,’ whoever,“ the Dutch researcher said.

Scientists also point out that populism, usually in combination with right-wing or left-wing ideology, divides society into two homogeneous and opposing groups – „ordinary people“ and the „corrupt elite,“ and that supporters see it as a democratic corrective, while critics point out that populists in power undermine democratic norms.

„They express citizens’ dissent. So, that is good for democracy. But their ideas are not always compatible with the basic principles of liberal democracy. This is especially true for far-right populist parties,“ Rooduijn said.

He also emphasized that the experience of countries such as Hungary, Poland, and the United States shows that democracy can come under pressure when far-right populists come to power.