The Electoral Appeal of Symbolic Class Signalling

This letter investigates the electoral effects of symbolic class signalling in contemporary politics. We explore how symbolic class signalling through ‘cultural consumption’, such as drinking beer or wine, appeals to voters from different parties. We argue that symbolic class signalling through cultural consumption has gained in importance in contemporary politics due to the political realignment along the cultural dimension and we expect that the radical right parties benefit most from it. Our conjoint survey experiment in Switzerland in 2023 confirms our expectation. While many voters are biased against politicians with upper-class cultural consumption, working-class cultural consumption is only electorally beneficial for radical right parties. Working-class cultural consumption appeals particularly to working-class radical right voters without tertiary education, indicating a cultural interpretation of symbolic class signalling. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of symbolic politics and class identity in times of political transformation.