conservative parties are generally characterised by their advocacy for free-market economics, aligning them with a clear right-wing ideology in sociocultural terms. Within the European context, the clearest and probably most successful instance is the British Conservative Party. Nevertheless, as Tim Bale has well documented, 11 after Brexit, the latter is experiencing a process of turmoil and transformation with unknown consequences. From a historical perspective, the liberal party family emerged in Europe to represent the ideas and interests of the ascending bourgeoisie, advocating for personal liberties, economic freedom, constitutional reform and the secularisation of the state. Since the late 1990s, most liberal parties in Western Europe have unequivocally embraced free-market principles, aligning them with the right-wing political spectrum. Despite this economic alignment, liberal parties often emphasise individual rights and freedoms, leading to more moderate or occasionally left-wing stances on sociocultural issues. Consequently, these parties exhibit a distinctive programmatic mix, combining right-wing positions in the economic domain with progressive stances in the cultural sphere. A notable example is Emmanuel Macron’s project in France, which, by intentionally aiming to transcend traditional left-right political divisions, is contributing to a further destabilisation of the French political system. 12 On the other hand, as seen in Figure 1, the far right in Europe brings together the populist radical right and the extreme right. The main difference between them is that the former is nominally democratic, while the latter is openly authoritarian. To better understand this distinction, it is worth briefly specifying the characteristics of each of these two party families. The presence of extreme-right-wing ideas and parties in Western Europe is not a recent phenomenon, as evidenced by historical instances of fascism. Indeed, post-war Europe saw the emergence of extreme-right parties with roots in fascism across several countries. Due to their direct challenges to democracy and associations with fascist ideologies, these parties are typically shunned by other political entities and depicted negatively in the media. As a result, most extreme-right parties find themselves on the fringes or are essentially defunct in contemporary Europe. One notable exception is Golden Dawn in Greece, which – at least for a period – remained relatively competitive in the electoral arena compared to other extreme-right parties. 13 As it is well known, populist radical right parties present themselves as the voice of the(silent) majority and do not attack the democratic system itself, but rather the existence of actors and institutions specialised in the protection of fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression and the protection of minorities. More specifically, populist radical right parties are characterised by three ideological components:(1) authoritarianism, defined as the defence of clear societal hierarchies, under which any type of deviant behaviour must be severely punished;(2) nativism, conceived as the notion that the political system must essentially promote the interests of the native population, as foreign ideas and foreigners themselves pose a threat to the homogeneity of the nation state; and(3) populism, understood as a political ideology that not only portrays society as divided between two opposing groups,“the people” versus“the corrupt elite”, but also argues to respect popular sovereignty by all means. 14 Populist radical right parties have firmly established themselves in(almost) all Western European countries, successfully securing positions in government in some instances. Even in cases where they have not directly entered government, these parties wield significant influence in shaping public discourse, particularly in the realm of immigration. After briefly discussing the key concepts in the academic debate on the right-wing camp in contemporary Europe, we present empirical evidence about its electoral strength. Given that the extreme right obtains a minimal number of votes, we focus on the populist radical right and on the three mainstream-right party families discussed above: Christian democracy; Conservatives; and Liberals. Moreover, we also show the electoral strength of social democracy because this permits us to contrast its overall performance in The transformation of the mainstream right and its impact on(social) democracy 19