The Rise and Demise of the Dutch Extreme Right: Discursive Opportunities and Support for the Center Democrats in the 1990s

This article seeks to explain why the Dutch extreme-right party, Center Democrats (CD), never succeeded in breaking out of its marginal position. It argues that, in addition to analyzing fluctuations in electoral support, scholars should also examine the degree to which extreme-right parties are able to express their views in the mass media. Supply-side explanations are extended by showing that discursive political opportunities need to be openly acknowledged and debated publicly to become relevant. Relying on longitudinal data derived from political claims analysis and opinion polls, this article demonstrates that negative public reactions significantly eroded the electoral attractiveness of the extreme-right party. In contrast, when one's goal is to achieve mass media access, the results reveal that any publicity is favorable publicity. Public criticism enhanced the CD's access to the public debate. Also, rising support in opinion polls led to more public claim making. Remarkably, however, the extreme right party did not increase its electoral support when it made itself more prominently heard in the mass media. Thus, the CD appeared trapped in a spiral of discursive weakness.