The AfD’s Winning Formula: No Need for Economic Strategy Blurring in Germany

In contrast to its European peers, the AfD shows few signs of economic strategy blurring. The party offers clear antiredistribution policies that are matched by AfD voters’ preferences: Even the least affl uent AfD supporters have stronger preferences for lower redistribution than the most affl uent non-AfD supporters. For AfD supporters with lower socio-economic positions this means that they support economic policies that are against their economic interests. Extreme authoritarian cultural policies spiced up with criticism of the establishment and combined with a general opposition to redistribution can be identifi ed as the AfD’s winning formula. Within the Western European PRRP party family, this winning formula directed at supporters with lower socioeconomic positions constitutes an exception.