I find the low numbers for Konkordanz very interesting, given how much parties like to talk about whenever there is a government seat available. I've long thought that the Federal Council's version of it is much too strict, but always assumed people would be strongly opposed to weakening it.
Feels great to be back in my hometown for the conference of the Swiss Political Science Association! Looking forward to present my work on the competition between BSW and AfD in the 2025 general elections tomorrow morning.
"But the SVP is different":
I hear this often, especially compared to A/fD.
But 2024 data confirm different story: programmatically, the overlaps are strikingly close.
The real difference is govt participation, not ideology.
And yet, many still label the SVP as a center-right ("bürgerlich") party
Visualized here. Hot tip for journalists: the real question isn’t why Wilders lost, but why the far right has consolidated — despite Wilders's ineffectiveness in government.
With the official prognosis giving one additional seat to PVV and one to FvD compared to the ext poll, the narrative should really not be that the Netherlands/Jetten has beaten the radical right. The far right bloc remains remarkably stable.
As a Swiss person, anything that manages to stick to one ballot instead of a full booklet of them seems perfectly sane to me!
Housecats, on the other hand, should probably be assumed to be in any lego bucket in their vicinity unless proven otherwise. At the very least because it's an adorable mental image.
In Nordrhein-Westfalen wählen ziemlich gleich viele Leute AfD und Grüne. Medial und politisch geht es heute allerdings fast nur um die AfD und ihre Themen. Die "besorgten Bürger" die Aufmerksamkeit bekommen, sind die Anhänger der AfD. Wir sagen ihnen klar: es lohnt sich rechtsextrem zu wählen
Thank you for this series - I found this substack both very helpful and very motivating so far, and I'm excited to see what there is to come in it. Looking forward to the new season!
In Austria, the far right's "strength might have been exceptional in an international context, but... the case of Austria has become a ‘normal’ one in European politics and beyond."
@manesweisskircher.bsky.social on Austria's far right in long-term perspective
For the first time I am launching my own personal website! This has been something I've put off for a while and finally got round to doing. If you'd like to keep up with my work go check out dinowildi.github.io
This was an interesting read that reminded me how often I've recently been frustrated by Swiss media describing the SVP in terms like "bürgerlich" or "conservative" instead, shying away from even "right-wing". Unfortunate to see other countries following us in that regard...
Today, I am starting my new postdoc position at the @uniheidelberg.bsky.social, working in the "The New Climate Divide" project by @eborbath.bsky.social. I'm looking forward to progress my research and dive into a new project following my PhD!