Duitse studie: vrouwen in toenemende mate aangetrokken tot rechts

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Right-wing populists are often depicted as angry white men. A new study, however, has found that women are increasingly supporting right-wing populist parties, and they are often more radical than their male peers.

Indeed, most people tend to picture the prototypical supporter of Germany's far-right PEGIDA movement and right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as angry white men. But that's not entirely accurate, according to a new study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), which is affiliated with Germany's center-left Social Democratic Party. The report, which examines right-wing populist voters in Germany, France, Greece, Poland, Sweden and Hungary, found that women are increasingly drawn to right-wing populist parties.

So, what is it that makes these parties so appealing to women? Elisa Gutsche, who edited the FES study, argued that many right-wing populist parties examined in the report seek to garner female votes by promising to strengthen the welfare system. "Parties say they will raise child benefit payments and make related allowances to promote families," she said.

Poland's PiS, for instance, has launched the Family 500+ initiative, which guarantees families with two children a monthly payment of approximately ¤120 ($140) per child until they reach the age of 18.

Germany's AfD, in turn, champions a "welcome culture for children" — in contrast to the country's much lauded "welcome culture" towards foreign refugees. Indeed, a sizable number of female voters have opted to support the party due to anxiety over what the future might hold and fears that Germany's pension system may collapse. Social issues, therefore, often motivate many women to back right-wing populists.

The report also highlights how women are actually more inclined to subscribe to strong xenophobic and Islamophobic beliefs than men.