Different shades of leadership A comparative assessment of leaders’ traits in explaining the vote for populist radical right parties

Abstract

Populist Radical Right parties (PRR) have gained prominence in many European countries, with leadership often considered a key factor in their electoral success. Despite this, limited research has explored how voters’ perceptions of leaders’ traits influence support for PRR parties. This study delves into the impact of perceived leaders’ traits on the vote for PRR parties, using original survey data collected during recent general elections in six European countries (Italy 2022, France 2017, Germany 2017, Austria 2017, UK 2017, Netherlands 2017). Combining descriptive findings and regression analyses, our results reveal three key insights: (1) Voters differentiate among leaders’ traits, with the influence of each trait varying across different party types; (2) the effect of leader’s perceptions on all traits is significant also after taking into account party identification; (3) PRR parties are particularly adept at attracting voters based on positive assessments of leaders’ strength and empathy, more so than other party types.