With a Little Help from Their Friends: The Consequences of Populists in National Government for Policymaking in Local Government

Abstract

Despite increasing research into populist parties in power, their impact on subnational institutions has been neglected. Taking a novel multilevel perspective, this article inquires into the policy consequences of populist radical right parties (specifically, the FPÖ and Lega) in local government, and the effect of their simultaneous participation in national government. The article shows the expansion of exclusionary policy that follows their concurrent presence in national and local government. The process that leads from national government entry to local policy influence is traced using interview and newspaper data. The article argues that the influence of central parties over these ‘showcase’ localities is rooted in different multilevel governance configurations. These vary cross-nationally according to two factors: the strength of mayors’ linkages with higher government levels in the different institutional settings and, due to the different extent of party nationalization, the strategic value of the municipality to the central party.

Going Nativist. How to Interview the Radical Right?

“…While most publications in the field of radical right research remain quantitative in nature, recent years have witnessed a renewed interest in qualitative studies relying on interview data (e.g. Cramer, 2016; Hochschild, 2016; Paxton, 2021). These studies have made important contributions to our understanding of the support for and success of radical right-wing parties.…”

“…Bizeul, 2003; Challier, 2021; Gottraux & Péchu, 2011; Hochschild, 2016), which we will refer to as the ‘grassroots’ level, to administrators and office holders (e.g. Albertazzi & McDonnell, 2015; Art, 2011; Cremer, 2021; de Jonge, 2021; Paxton, 2021), which we will refer to as the ‘party-elite’ level. These studies have provided crucial contributions to the radical right literature.…”

The Three Faces of Populism in Power: Polity, Policies and Politics

“…István Grajczjár et al (2022) build ‘typologies of solidarity’, where the direction of attitudes towards solidarity and inclusion/exclusion are combined with the intensity of the impact of populism in power on them across time, in the relatively long-lasting perspective which characterized the Hungarian case of populist ruling. Fred Paxton (2022) offers another view on how the policy influence of populism in power can be measured, pointing out ‘differential consequences’ experienced by local communities under populist governments. Finally, Jostein Askim et al (2022), on the Norwegian case, show the importance of investigating the consequences of populist inclusion in government along not one, but several dimensions.…”

“…Moving to policies, Paxton (2022) investigates the consequences of populists in national government on policymaking in local government. Looking at electoral party programmes, leaders' speeches and newspaper coverage, the contribution focuses on two paradigmatic cases of local governments (Wels in Austria and Cascina in Italy) led by the populist radical right before and after the parties' entrance into national government.…”

How Do Mainstream Parties Justify Their (Un)willingness to Rule with Populist Parties? Evidence from Twitter Data

“…The Netherlands and Austria have distinct traditions: populist parties have either been part of the government or have formally supported a minority government. In Austria, the cordon sanitaire that was in place has been broken twice when the FPÖ joined the federal government (Paxton 2021). After winning the elections in 1999, it became part of the government in a coalition with the conservative ÖVP for the period 2000-2005, after which the party became internally divided and lost the next general election.…”