Populist radical right’s impacton the mainstream right on theimmigration issue : A qualitative study of SD’s impact on Moderaternas’ positionand strategy in the immigration issue

Abstract: This study describes PRRP’s impact on the mainstream right´s position change on the immigration issuein their electoral manifestos. Many researchers through comparative studies found that PRRP’s impacton mainstream parties in immigration issue is overestimated and mainstream parties tend to increase thesaliency of immigration issue accordingly. Through qualitative content analysis, this study shows thatthe mainstream right chooses to change its position on the immigration issue and adopt anaccommodative strategy towards PRRP. Analyzing time-series data for Moderaternas´ electoralmanifestos in two different elections 2010 and 2022 and SD impact in the Swedish context, this studyempirically shows that Moderaternas´ accommodative strategy depends on SD´s electoral success andthe electoral threat they pose on Moderaterna in terms of vote lose, these factors determine theattractiveness of not only change the position in immigration issues but also to adopt an accommodativestrategy towards PRRPs´ position in that issue.