Nothing to See Here: The Impact of Far Right European Parliament Election Results on European Politics

Do the electoral results of far right parties in European Parliament elections have an impact on European politics? I argue that the electoral results of far right parties in European Parliament elections will not have a meaningful impact on politics at the European level and will have very little impact at the national level. At the national level, mainstream parties ignore the electoral results of the far right in European Parliament elections because these elections are second-order. However, evidence suggests that far right parties adjust their campaign issue salience based on their European Parliament election results. At the European level, the far right is unable to meaningful impact policy within the European Parliament. Overall, political observers should not be overly concerned with the increased electoral performance of far right parties in European Parliament elections.

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