The CSU’s hard line towards refugees/immigrants is hardly new

June 18th, 6:46pm June 18th, 6:48pm

Kai ArzheimerProfessor of politics. Specialises in voter behaviour and political attitudes, obsessed by right-wing extremism.

Political Science

Hey twitter, the CSU’s current anti-refugee line may be inspired by rise of AfD and upcoming elections, but it is hardly new. Lubbers et al. 2002 report (for the 1990s) that the CSU was responsible for Germany having one of the most restrictive “anti-immigrant climates” in Western Europe, that the CSU they were the most anti-immigrant Christian Democratic party in the sample, and that they outscored the Italian AN (then still a borderline case for Radical Right membership).

Lubbers, Marcel, Mérove Gijsberts, and Peer Scheepers. “Extreme Right-Wing Voting in Western Europe.” European Journal of Political Research 41 (2002): 345–378.

Also published on Medium.