Inte bara Sverige, utan även t.ex. Danmark, har tagit emot många flyktingar på senare år. Liksom i Sverige går åsikterna i befolkningen starkt isär om huruvida detta har varit en god politik eller ej. Man kan mycket väl tänka sig att missnöjda väljare börjar rösta på ett parti som förespråkar en mer restriktiv politik. En ny studie, ”Refugee Migration and Electoral Outcomes”, undersöker hur flyktingars ankomst i Danmark 1989–1998  påverkade röstandet på Framstegspartiet och Danska Folkpartiet:

We find that refugee allocation has a considerable effect on voting outcomes. Looking at municipalities with a population below the 95th percentile (which, for simplicity, we will refer to as “rural” municipalities throughout the paper), we find that a one percentage point increase in the refugee share of the municipal population between electoral cycles increases the vote share for anti-immigration parties by 1.34 in parliamentary and 2.32 percentage points in municipal elections. These are sizeable responses considering these parties’ overall vote shares of 7.60% (5.58%) in parliamentary (municipal) elections. However, the far right parties are not the only ones to gain. The centre-right parties similarly increase their vote share in response to refugee allocation, although to a lesser extent, while parties on the left side of the political spectrum lose. Overall, refugee allocation leads to a clear shift in the vote distribution towards the right of the political spectrum. On the other hand, voter responses to refugee allocation in the municipalities above the 95th size percentile (which, for simplicity, we will refer to as “urban” municipalities throughout the paper), are markedly different. Here, increased refugee allocation causes—if anything—a decrease in the vote share for anti-immigration parties. This signals a divide in the political responses of urban and rural populations to refugee allocation.

Man ser här samma spricka som i viss mån verkar finnas även i Sverige, där många i mindre städer motsätter sig (fler) flyktingar, medan storstadsmänniskor tenderar att vara mer positivt inställda. Det hela förefaller svårhanterligt för partier som försöker röstmaximera: det de kan vinna i en typ av städer kan de mycket väl förlora i en annan.