ABSTRACT
This chapter sheds light on the nature of party competition in general and the role of mainstream parties in particular in furthering or limiting the spread of right-wing populism in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. By tracing the behaviour and positioning of mainstream parties over time, this chapter argues that the failure of these parties to adapt to changing electorates ultimately helped pave the way for the emergence of right-wing populist challengers in the Netherlands and Flanders. By contrast, in Luxembourg and Wallonia, mainstream parties have acted as ‘buffers’ on public demand and party supply.
