ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates some aspects of public opinion in the Nordic countries using survey data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES), the European Social Survey (ESS). It examines how the left-right division in politics affects voting behaviour in individual countries. The left-right voter positions are still the most important factor explaining voting choice; political parties offer different ideological solutions that the voters respond to in a rational manner. The chapter considers the political support in all five countries. Political support, measured as political trust and satisfaction with how democracy works, has generally been high in the Nordic countries compared to the rest of the world. The chapter also investigates public opinion on immigration between 2002 and 2014. This is of special interest, as witnessed the emergence and rise of populist right-wing parties in this period in all five countries except Iceland, parties that have been highly critical of immigration and sceptical of foreigners.
