There is a widespread concern that the rise of the extreme right parties (ERPs) may disrupt democratic policies in consolidated democracies. The major source of this concern is ERPs' advocacy for authoritarian policies and their grievance about democratic institutions. This study investigates the urgency of this concern by focusing on thepossible means by which ERPs are able to affectdemocratic politics. After determining ERPs and theircomparative vote shares, this study examines theindividual determinants of voting for them with respect to ideological affinity and political dissatisfaction. The evidence casts doubt on influence through actual or potential vote strength.Therefore the study raises the following question: Isthe absence of vote support in many countries aconsequence of the established parties havingpreempted or accommodated the ERPs' appeal by embracing their political demands? The empirical results demonstrate that several established parties have indeed moved rightwards in the lastthirty years in a total of 19 consolidateddemocracies. Therefore, the real threat to democracyhas come from the established parties rather than ERPs.