Populism in Times of a Pandemic

This article provides an analysis of the COVID-19 discourse within six European populist parties from Spain, Germany, and France, with the aim of shedding light on the diverse interpretations and presentations of the pandemic by these parties. While most studies focus on right-wing or far-right populism, this study looks at both right and left ideologies paired with populism. By applying the discourse-historical approach of critical discourse studies, we highlight similarities and differences across the right-left political spectrum, as well as variations within and between different countries. The study contributes thus to the existing literature on populism and extends our understanding of the relationship between populist parties and the pandemic beyond right-wing populist parties only. Results, consistent with previous research, show that the host ideology decisively shapes parties’ discourses about COVID-19 and the need to consider alternative perspectives in populism research.