Party support impacts individual salience and attitudes. Studying the politicisation of the Ukraine war with Austrian panel survey data

Abstract

This study investigates how political party support shapes the politicisation of the Ukraine war among the Ukraine public via party cues. Special focus lies on how support for Russia-friendly parties – both on the far-left and far-right end of the political spectrum – diminish individuals’ relative salience of the Ukraine war and impact their attitudes towards Ukrainian refugees. Using data from an Austrian panel survey (Values in Crisis), I show that the Ukraine war is highly salient for Austrians, second only to rising prices as a main policy concern. However, salience varies by party support: voters of the Russia-friendly far-right FPÖ and the Russia-friendly far- left KPÖ assign lower relative importance to securing peace in Europe as a policy concern compared to centre parties, which can shift attention away from the Ukraine war. Attitudes toward Ukrainian refugees are also polarised, with FPÖ and MFG supporters expressing more negative than average opinions, while KPÖ supporters do not differ from centre parties because of their emphasis on supporting refugees. By leveraging panel data, the study shows that party preference prior to the war (March/ April 2021) predicts both subsequent issue salience and refugee attitudes, which further illustrates the impact of party cues.