Partisanship and perceptions of the consequences of welfare service privatization from left to right (-wing populism)

In view of increased support for a rightwing populist (RWP) party and marketization of the Swedish welfare state, here we study local politicians’ and voters’ perceptions of welfare service privatization. We specifically ask whether such perceptions form coherent attitudinal profiles, linked to partisanship and left-right ideology. Using survey data focusing on the views of local politicians and voters in Sweden, we analyze perceptions of potential consequences of privatization and apply cluster analysis to examine whether and how such perceptions are interlinked. The results show that two distinct and contrasting latent profiles can be identified based on the underlying pattern across eight indicators. A large majority displays these profiles, which are closely connected to partisanship and ideology. Moreover, an ambivalent profile is identified. Contrary to expectations, views expressed by RWP politicians and voters are mainly aligned with the coherent profile associated with social democrats but also to a lesser extent the ambivalent profile. Thus, there appears to be a duality in RWP politicians’ and voters’ perceptions of welfare service privatization, suggesting that the potential impact of increased support for an RWP party on the future development of welfare service delivery in Sweden is not clear-cut.