People with populist views in Western Europe are more likely than those with mainstream views to distrust traditional institutions. While populist attitudes span the ideological spectrum in Western Europe, populist political parties are relatively unpopular in the region.
Regardless of populist sentiments, people in Western Europe tend to favor parties that reflect their own ideological orientation. With regard to policy, too, ideology continues to matter.
Across all 12 NATO member countries, a median of 61% approved of the alliance last spring. Many Americans say NATO does too little to solve global problems.
The differences over immigration policy between Germanyโs Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union are also evident among backers of the parties.
Nationalist and anti-immigrant attitudes in Western Europe have been an issue in a number of recent national elections around the region. But Western Europeans vary by country when it comes to having positive or negative views about immigrants and religious minorities.
In seven Western European countries surveyed, the top main source for news is a public news organization โ such as the BBC in the UK, Sveriges Television/Radio (SVT/Radio) in Sweden or ARD in Germany โ rather than a private one.
Neha Sahgal, a lead author of our survey of Christians in Western Europe, discusses how the survey team constructed its questions and analyzed results.