The Government Participation of Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in West European Democracies

Radical right-wing populist parties have incessantly increased their presence in Western Europe since the early-1980s. The number of countries in which radical right-wing populist parties compete in elections has grown, as has the number of countries where these parties manage to pass the electoral threshold and enter parliament. In addition to well-known radical right-wing populist parties like the French National Front (Front National, or FN) or the Austrian Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, or FPÖ), the rise of a multitude of lesser known radical right-wing populist parties like the Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti, or DF), the List Pim Fortuyn (Lijst Pim Fortuyn, or LPF), or New Democracy (Ny Demokrati, ND) has characterized West European politics since the late-1980s. More importantly, the electoral success of these parties has grown exponentially.