Poor Health Predicts Support for Right-Wing Populists in Europe

This work examines whether personal health vulnerability helps explain votes for right-wing populist parties across developed European democracies.

📊 Data and approach: The analysis uses all waves of the European Social Survey (2002–2020). Multivariate statistical models predict vote choice for right-wing populist parties from self-reported health while including established controls for:

• cultural vulnerability measures
• economic vulnerability measures (including income and self-reported economic insecurity)
• satisfaction with personal life
• satisfaction with the country’s health system
• demographic controls (including gender) and attitudes toward immigrants

📌 Key findings:

• Worse self-reported health is associated with a significantly higher likelihood of voting for right-wing populist parties.
• This relationship remains statistically significant after accounting for cultural and economic vulnerability and for satisfaction with personal life and the national health system.
• The influence of health on support for right-wing populist parties is larger than the effects of income and self-reported economic insecurity, but smaller than the effects of gender and attitudes about immigrants.
• The pattern is observed across ESS waves covering 2002–2020, indicating a consistent relationship over time.

📈 Why it matters: These results broaden understanding of the social bases of right-wing populist support by identifying health vulnerability as an independent predictor. The findings imply that public-health conditions and policies may not only affect population well-being but also shape voting behavior and the broader political landscape.