Mainstream Parties reacting to Right-Wing Populism: An analysis of final speeches during the 2017 federal elections in Germany

Abstract: Right-wing populist parties are on the rise all over Europe. While academia pays a lot of attention to well-established populist parties in France, Austria and Italy, new competitors such as the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Germany are mostly disregarded. Specifically, the impact those new parties have before entering power on a federal level has been neglected. The present research concentrates on the impact of the AfD on mainstream parties in the 2017 federal elections. By further developing the modified spatial theory by Meguid, an analysis of German mainstream parties (CDU/CSU, SPD, BÜNDNIS ’90 DIE GRÜNEN, FDP, DIE LINKE) and a niche party (AfD) will be enabled. Subsequently, a Qualitative Content Analysis of the final speeches held by the mainstream parties during the 2017 national election campaign will be executed. A dismissive, accommodative or adversarial strategy towards the newly emerging niche party will be identified for each mainstream party. Conclusions will be drawn on the implications of a niche party’s impact on mainstream parties.