The Success and Failure of Right-Wing Populist Parties in the Benelux Countries by Léonie de Jonge

Author:Léonie de Jonge [Jonge, Léonie de]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367502515
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 56460048
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2021-06-28T00:00:00+00:00

Weak party supply

While the Luxembourgish electoral system is also based on proportional representation, it is not as permissive as the Dutch one.32 This partly results from the variation in district sizes, as well as the seat distribution mechanism, which give rise to an informal electoral threshold. Despite its small size, Luxembourg is comprised of four constituencies: North, East, South and Centre. The number of parliamentary seats allocated per electoral district varies from 7 (out of 60) seats in the eastern district to 23 seats in the southern district. However, this distribution quota, which was introduced in the 1980s, is known to be anachronistic in the sense that it no longer corresponds either to the number of eligible voters or to the number of residents living in each district (Fehlen 2018). As a result, the ‘natural’ electoral threshold varies substantially per district: in the East, 12.5 percent of the votes are needed to acquire one seat in parliament, whereas only 4.2 percent are required in the South. The unequal value of votes is often criticised (particularly after elections) given that the seat distribution generally favours bigger parties in smaller electoral districts.33 Despite this informal electoral threshold, the Luxembourgish electoral system is still proportional and should therefore not represent a major hurdle for populist radical right parties.

On the other hand, unlike in Flanders, far-right groupings in Luxembourg cannot rely on the existence of a well-developed nationalist subculture as a way of mobilising supporters. While Luxembourgish nationalism does exist, it is a relatively recent phenomenon. Luxembourg became a sovereign state almost ‘by accident’ in 1839, after Belgium gained independence from the Netherlands. Thus, the country became an independent state before a sense of nationalism existed among the population (Garcia 2014: 118). The emergence of a true sense of national belonging and identity developed during WWII (Trausch 2003: 201–74), as the German occupation forged a sense of Luxembourgish nationhood. In that sense, it ‘represented a turning point in both nation- and language-building, as language was used as evidence to prove the existence of an authentic nation distinct from Germany’ (Garcia 2014: 114).

It was not until the 1970s, however, that questions pertaining to national identity became politically salient. During this time, Luxembourgish society became exposed to a range of broad, structural changes in the international environment, including European integration, globalisation and the increased presence of immigrants (Garcia 2014: 119). These factors sparked the emergence of a nationalist linguistic movement. The use and promotion of Lëtzebuergesch have become symbols for the country’s identity. As explained earlier, the various far-right movements that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s grew out of groups and associations that advocated the preservation of the Luxembourgish language. Yet, while there is a distinct Luxembourgish national identity, there is no strong, underlying nationalist subculture that far-right movements could rely on to recruit qualified personnel and activists.

Turning to the internal supply side, it is noteworthy that in contrast to the Netherlands and Flanders, Luxembourg has not witnessed the rise of a ‘credible’ right-wing populist contender.

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