Explaining the Populist Radical Right's Success in the 2023 Swiss National Elections: A Reference Group Perspective

Abstract This study analyses the success of populist radical right (PRR) parties in the 2023 Swiss elections using reference group theory. While existing literature emphasizes the influence of objective and subjective group membership on electoral choice, it often overlooks voters' feelings toward groups they do not belong to and their perceptions of parties' associations with these groups. We argue that this framework is key to understanding PRR voting. Like their European counterparts, Swiss PRR parties – particularly the Swiss People's Party – mobilized group‐based resentment through a campaign stigmatizing asylum seekers and migrants, and by promoting an anti‐gender agenda. Using data from the Swiss Election Study (Selects), we show that negative feelings toward migrants and feminists influenced PRR voting, beyond political preferences and socio‐structural factors. This resentment also helped attract new voters who had initially leaned toward centre‐right parties. The study highlights the importance of group feelings in electoral behaviour.