What do citizens make of ‘left’ and ‘right’ when new conflictual issues emerge, rendering the issue space increasingly complex? Previous research shows that the issue basis of citizens’ left-right identification can shift over time in response to the politicization of new issues (de Vries et al. 2013, Knutsen 1995, Rekker 2016). In the Netherlands, the relevance of attitudes towards immigration for left-right self-placement has increased over time (de Vries et al. 2013) and for younger cohorts (Rekker 2016), whereas the relevance of attitudes towards redistribution has weakened over time. I extend this line of research to a comparative setting, studying how associations between citizens’ issue positions and their left-right self-identification vary across generational cohorts in contemporary Europe.

I argue that the issue basis of citizens’ left-right positions varies with the salience and politicization of issues during their periods of political socialization. Attitudes on new contested issues, especially immigration but also protection of the environment, should, thus, be more closely associated with left-right positions within younger generations.

The empirical analysis draws on cumulative data from the European Social Survey (ESS, round 1-8, 2002-2016) from 30 European countries. I find that, overall, caring for the environment and especially immigration attitudes are stronger predictors of left-right positions among (post-)millennials than among older cohorts. In contrast, attitudes towards redistribution are somewhat less relevant within younger cohorts. Yet, the exact shape of these generational differences varies across countries, apparently in line with the (evolving) structure of domestic party competition.