Linking Covid-19-related socio-economic anxieties with right-wing populism: A comparison between Europe and the United States

Taking a demand-side perspective based on the analysis of citizens’ and voters’ attitudes, this chapter focuses on the relationship between socio-economic anxieties related to the Covid-19 pandemic and support for right-wing populism. We use an original survey of national representative samples in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland and the United States, and examine, on the one hand, the socio-demographic and attitudinal determinants of socio-economic concerns related to the coronavirus and, on the other hand, the effect of these concerns on populist voting. As suggested by recent literature on populism and coronavirus, we anticipate that this effect should be heterogeneous and should vary across different socioeconomic groups. Moreover, we expect the effect of Covid-19 related socioeconomic anxieties to be conditioned by the status of the populist party, in particular, whether in government or in opposition.