Populism and the Ambivalence of Egalitarianism. How do the Underprivileged Reconcile a Right Wing Party Preference with Their Socio-Economic Attitudes?

The decline of traditional class voting is at the centre of the Class Politics debate. From the framework of traditional class analysis a labourer's right wing vote appears 'unnatural'. A right wing vote is thought to damage the interests of the economically precarious groups. This paper attempts to understand the phenomenon of so-called unnatural voting behaviour starting from the populism concept. From a theoretical literature study we analyse the relationship between populism & attitudes regarding the economic left-right cleavage. We argue that right-wing populism appeals to a cry for equality, yet at the same time mobilises this sentiment against the institutions of the welfare state. In that way populist right parties succeed in attuning their economic discourse to the socio-economic attitudes of broad layers of the population, including economically precarious categories. The empirical relevance of this hypothesis is tested on the case of Flanders. Tables. Adapted from the source document.