Less Populist in Power? Online Communication of Populist Parties in Coalition Governments

Abstract

Recently several populist parties have become part of coalition governments in multiparty democracies, specifically in Western Europe. Based on the inclusion-moderation thesis, academics assume that incumbent populist parties tone down their populist rhetoric as a result of the daily businesses of deliberation and compromises in coalitions. However, while the assumption of tamed populists in power is widespread, there is little empirical work dealing with the topic. Using a classical quantitative content analysis of 1,210 Facebook posts published by populist parties in Italy, Spain, Austria and New Zealand, this article examines whether opposition parties are more populist and nativist than those in coalition governments. The findings indicate that populists do not decrease the degree of anti-elite and people-centred messages when they are in power but rather change the type of elites they attack and the antagonist groups they juxtapose. We should therefore rethink the validity of the inclusion-moderation thesis for populist parties in coalition governments.

Populist radical right parties and discursive opportunities during Covid-19. Blame attribution in times of crisis

“…Economic and media elites hardly play a role. Supposed non-native outgroups are indeed hardly criticized, unlike in non-pandemic times (Schwörer 2021 b), what confirms Hypothesis 1. “Externals” are occasionally criticized as well—while “compatriots abroad” (outside the state but within the nation) are not addressed at all.…”

“…But that does not mean that populism is the main ideological feature of PRRP. Data from existing pre-pandemic studies suggest that nativist elements are at least as important for PRRP than populist ones—if not even more important (Schwörer 2021 b). The pandemic is an extraordinary situation for PRRP and rather underlines the flexibility of PRRPs’ ideological toolkit, which can shift the emphasis from nativist to populist discourses and vice versa.…”

“…As described above, nativism (or ethnic nationalism) is often labelled the core feature of PRRP and anti-immigration and anti-outgroup messages constitute the core discursive elements of this party family (Mudde 2007 ; Rydgren 2017 ; Schwörer 2021 b). Data from Schwörer ( 2021 b) suggests that nativist messages against outgroups and immigrants tend to be more important for PRRP (before the pandemic) than blame attribution towards political elites (single parties/politicians; the government or the “political establishment” in general). We therefore expect that nativist messages against supposed non-natives and immigration in general do not simply disappear during the pandemic but that they play a less important role compared to populist anti-elitist discourses.…”

Populists and the Pandemic

“…First, it is necessary to consider that Podemos joined the coalition government in January 2020, two months before the start of the pandemic. Following the " incumbency challenge" of populist parties' theory ( Krause and Wagner 2019;Schwörer 2021), this means that its populist rhetoric is tempered, and following the model of how populist actors interact with crisis , its ability to expand the crisis is therefore limited. During the pandemic, although Podemos still transmits a Manichean vision of the world, the party tempers its Manicheism by focusing on particular issues, which in this case are the health, social and economic measures to tackle the pandemic and its consequences.…”

Lowered Expectations and Shifting Standards? – Two Survey Experiments exploring Neo‐populist Political Scandals and the Perceived Trustworthiness of Politicians

“…While we generally agree with Herkman's assessment that these forms of scandalous events usually involve RPP politicians, we would still argue that the scandal type per se ought not to be confined to them. As Mudde (2004, 2013; see also Schwörer 2018) has eloquently argued, politicians from other parties have increasingly adopted populist behaviour and rhetoric as a reaction to the surge in popularity of RPPs (Heinze 2018). Similarly, Ekström and Johansson (2008, 67–68) remark that politicians from mainstream parties occasionally make xenophobic remarks when they think that the camera is off.…”