The most comprehensive index of populism in Europe
The Timbro Authoritarian Populism Index (TAP) is based on election data from national elections stretching back to 1980. The study covers a total of 267 parties, in 300 elections in a total of 33 countries during the period 1980-2018. This makes TAP the most comprehensive index of populism in Europe.
Read the report and explore the data: populismindex.com
Executive summary
• 26.8 percent of voters in Europe – more than one in four – cast their vote for an authoritarian populist party last time they voted in a national election.
• Voter support for authoritarian populists increased in all six elections in Europe during 2018 and has on an aggregated level increased in ten out of the last eleven elections.
• The combined support for left- and right-wing populist parties now equals the support for Social democratic parties and is twice the size of support for liberal parties.
• Right-wing populist parties are currently growing more rapidly than ever before and have increased their voter support with 33 percent in four years.
• Left-wing populist parties have stagnated and have a considerable influence only in southern Europe. The median support for left-wing populist in Europe is 1.3 percent.
• Extremist parties on the left and on the right are marginalised in almost all of Europe with negligible voter support and almost no political influence.
• Almost every other government includes or relies on populists: authoritarian populists are part of eleven out of 33 governments and offer parliamentary support in an additional four countries.
• Hungary, Greece and Italy are the three countries where the support for authoritarian populist parties is strongest, while the weakest support is found in Malta, Ireland and the United Kingdom.