Liberal parties and elections

In terms of electoral performances and electoral sociology, liberal parties display diverging configurations across Europe. To get a better overview of their fate, this chapter first examines the electoral dynamics of liberal parties across specific spatial ‘blocs’. It examines the individual-level determinants of the liberal party vote, and questions the distinctiveness of the liberal electorate across Europe. Historically, the liberal parties of the Benelux countries competed primarily on the church-state cleavage against the Catholic parties. The 2014 European election was disastrous. In the follow-up, the Free Democratic Party lost representation in the Landers of Bavaria, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia. At its first election, Neue Osterreich attracted around 5% of the vote and subsequently captured 8.1% of the vote and one seat at the 2014 European elections. For this new party, the most difficult task lies ahead: to confirm these results and to impose itself in the long run against the Freedom Party of Austria.