04.05.2026

New Policy Paper • Daphne Halikiopoulou & Tim Vlandas

Understanding and Winning Back Far-Right Voters

The Growing Challenge

Across Europe, far-right (“nation-first”) parties have gained significant ground. Their influence now extends beyond election results—they are actively shaping political agendas, reframing debates, and pushing their ideas into the mainstream. Traditional strategies to isolate them have weakened, while their legitimacy, resources, and visibility continue to grow.

For progressive parties, this creates a dual challenge:

Competing for votes
Countering the far right’s growing influence over political priorities

To respond effectively, it’s essential to better understand who far-right voters actually are—and why they support these parties.

A Common Misconception

Far-right voters are often seen as a single, uniform group driven mainly by strong nationalist and anti-immigration beliefs. This assumption is misleading.

While some voters do hold deeply ideological views, they represent only a small portion of the electorate. In reality:

Many far-right voters are not strongly ideological
Economic concerns often outweigh cultural ones
Larger, less radical groups can have a bigger impact on election outcomes

Focusing too narrowly on cultural issues—like immigration—can lead to ineffective strategies, such as imitating far-right rhetoric or competing on their terms.

A Better Approach: Core vs. Peripheral Voters

The publication suggests a more effective framework: distinguishing between core and peripheral voters, and focusing on five peripheral voter groups progressives can sway.

Core Voters

Small but stable group
Strong ideological commitment to nationalist and exclusionary views
Loyal to far-right parties over time
Highly resistant to change or persuasion

These voters are unlikely to be won over by progressive strategies.

Peripheral Voters

Much larger and more diverse group
Less ideologically committed
More politically volatile and open to change
Often motivated by:
- Economic insecurity
- Dissatisfaction with public services
- Frustration with government performance
View issues like immigration in more practical, conditional terms

Where Elections Are Won

An illustration shows five peripheral voter groups of the far right around one voter group in their center

Far-right parties have not grown by expanding their ideological base. Their success comes from attracting broad coalitions of peripheral voters.

This means:

Elections are decided at the margins—not the extremes
The most effective strategies focus on voters who are open to change
Addressing real-life economic and social concerns is key

Who The Voter Groups Are

The Culturalist (Core Voter)

An image shows a group of people rallying around a flag

Who they are:
A small but highly committed group driven by strong beliefs about national identity and cultural preservation.

What motivates them:
They see immigration as a fundamental threat to culture, values, and social cohesion. Their worldview is shaped by a clear “us vs. them” divide.

Political behavior:

Loyal and ideologically consistent
Strong, long-term attachment to far-right parties
Resistant to persuasion or policy change

What this means:
A culturalist voter is unlikely to shift their views. Trying to win them over is typically ineffective and politically risky.

The Materialist

An illustration shows two hands opening up to show a man in front of a house and car

Who they are:
A large and electorally important group concerned primarily with everyday economic pressures.

What motivates them:
Jobs, wages, housing, and access to public services. Immigration matters to them mainly when it is linked to economic competition.

Political behavior:

Support is conditional and often protest-driven
Not strongly attached to far-right ideology
Open to alternatives

What this means:
A Materialist voter is highly persuadable. Policies that improve economic security and reduce inequality can win their support.

The Welfarist

An illustration shows a man underneath an umbrella, in front of a hospital.

Who they are:
Voters exposed to higher social and economic risks who depend on strong welfare systems.

What motivates them:
Security—stable income, reliable public services, and protection against life risks such as unemployment or illness.

Political behavior:

Concerned about fairness and access to welfare
May see social benefits as limited and contested
Support far-right parties when they feel underserved

What this means:
A Welfarist voter can be reached with credible commitments to strengthen welfare systems and ensure fair access for all.

The Decliner

An image shows a man walking down a flight of stairs with his face buried in his hands, with a foreclosed house at the top of the stairs and a much smaller house at the bottom

Who they are:
People who have experienced downward mobility—falling from stability into insecurity.

What motivates them:
A sense of loss: declining living standards, reduced opportunities, and unmet expectations.

Political behavior:

Driven by frustration and instability
Often align with broader protest sentiment
Can amplify far-right support when mobilised

What this means:
The Decliner is responsive to policies that restore opportunity, improve job security, and support upward mobility.

The Distrustful Voter

An image shows three people holding up prohibition signs, in front of a greyed out crowd, with a parliament building behind them.

Who they are:
Citizens with deep scepticism toward political institutions and democratic systems.

What motivates them:
Dissatisfaction with how governments perform and a belief that political systems are unresponsive or unfair.

Political behavior:

Highly volatile and protest-oriented
Support far-right parties as a rejection of the status quo
Sensitive to visible improvements in governance

What this means:
Rebuilding trust through effective governance and better public service delivery is key to engaging the Distrustful voter.

The Anti-green Voter

An image shows a man in a workers uniform, standing in front of a factory

Who they are:
Often based in rural or industrial regions, and employed in sectors affected by environmental policies.

What motivates them:
Concerns that climate policies threaten jobs, incomes, and local economies.

Political behavior:

Prioritise economic survival over environmental goals
Feel overlooked by policymakers
Oppose policies seen as unfair or imposed from above

What this means:
The Anti-Green voter can be engaged through “just transition” strategies—pairing climate action with real investment in jobs, regions, and long-term economic security.

Core and peripheral far-right voters: a summary

An image shows a table, summarizing the characteristics of core and periphery voters

Key Takeaway

To win back voters, progressive parties need to move beyond stereotypes and focus on the broader, more persuadable electorate. By understanding and addressing the concerns of peripheral voters, they can compete more effectively—and reshape the political landscape.

Read The Full Policy Paper

Halikiopoulou, Daphne ; Vlandas, Tim

Five far right voter groups progressives can sway

a core-periphery strategy for winning back voters

Download publication

Go to Publication

Contact

FES Regional Office for International Cooperation

Democracy of the Future

+43 (0) 1 890 3811 305
democracy.vienna(at)fes.de

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