Moderate in power, populist in opposition? Die Linke’s populist communication in the German states

Thomeczek, Jan Philipp

doi:10.1080/13569317.2023.2196516

Cited by 3 publications

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“…The split between the moderate and radical wings within Die Linke, which was already visible within the PDS (Koß and Hough 2006, p. 78), is well reflected at the level of subnational branches. In federal states where Die Linke is governing, the party uses much less populist communication than in states where the party is in opposition (Thomeczek 2023). Commentators have suggested that the party has become somewhat centrist in states such as Thuringia, where Die Linke has been leading the government since 2014 (Schwesinger 2019).…”

Section: Die Linke Wagenknecht and Their Populismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the analysis, the populism dictionary by Gründl (2022), which was developed based on an analysis of texts from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, was used, which consists of 238 terms. The dictionary is the currently most comprehensive dictionary project for the study of populism in German texts; it has been featured K (Breyer 2023;Thiele 2022;Thomeczek 2023) and addresses many of the shortcomings of previous populism dictionaries (Pauwels 2017;Rooduijn and Pauwels 2011). The greatest advancement is that it works based on multiword expressions.…”

Section: Analysis: Populist Communication By Die Linke Mps 2005-2023mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW): Left-Wing Authoritarian—and Populist? An Empirical Analysis

Thomeczek

2024

Polit Vierteljahresschr

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Germany’s relatively stable party system faces a new left-authoritarian challenger: Sahra Wagenknecht’s Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) party. First polls indicate that for the BSW, election results above 10% are within reach. While Wagenknecht’s positions in economic and cultural terms have already been discussed, this article elaborates on another highly relevant feature of Wagenknecht, namely her populist communication. Exploring Wagenknecht’s and BSW’s populist appeal helps us to understand why the party is said to also have potential among seemingly different voter groups coming from the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and far left Die Linke, which share high levels of populist attitudes. To analyse the role that populist communication plays for Wagenknecht and the BSW, this article combines quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative analysis covers all speeches (10,000) and press releases (19,000) published by Die Linke members of Parliament (MPs; 2005–2023). The results show that Wagenknecht is the (former) Die Linke MP with the highest share of populist communication. Furthermore, she was also able to convince a group of populist MPs to join the BSW. The article closes with a qualitative analysis of BSW’s manifesto that reveals how populist framing plays a major role in this document, in which the political and economic elites are accused of working against the interest of “the majority”. Based on this analysis, the classification of the BSW as a populist party seems to be appropriate.

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Section: Die Linke Wagenknecht and Their Populismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Analysis: Populist Communication By Die Linke Mps 2005-2023mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW): Left-Wing Authoritarian—and Populist? An Empirical Analysis

Thomeczek

2024

Polit Vierteljahresschr

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“…Her contentious stance concerning immigration has caused a division between Wagenknecht and The Left. The divide within the party between those aligned with Wagenknecht's radical perspectives and those exhibiting a more moderate stance can even be found on the subnational level (Thomeczek 2023). As a result, the public has started to speculate whether former party leader Sahra Wagenknecht is forming a splinter party with a left-wing authoritarian 1 focus.…”

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Eine Brücke zwischen Links und Rechts? Wie Sahra Wagenknecht die deutsche Parteienlandschaft verändern könnte

Wagner

Wurthmann

Thomeczek

2023

Polit Vierteljahresschr

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The prospect of a new party can significantly change political landscapes. In Germany, a potential new party is currently being widely discussed—Sahra Wagenknecht may splinter off from her party, The Left, to form a new radical party in Germany. Above all, Wagenknecht is known for her anti-immigration stance and could potentially bridge the gap between the right and left by forming a left-authoritarian party. What does the demand for such a left-authoritarian party look like in Germany? To explore this, we examined individual-level data to understand the structural factors that cause people to rate Wagenknecht higher than her current party, The Left. The results indicate that Wagenknecht is preferred over The Left by individuals who are more socioculturally right-wing, critical of migration, and dissatisfied with democracy. These findings provide valuable insights into the electoral potential of a potential left-authoritarian party led by Wagenknecht.

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Crowds and Smiles: Visual Opportunity Structures and the Communication of European Political Leaders During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mancosu,

Scaduto

2024

Mass Communication and Society

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Moderate in power, populist in opposition? Die Linke’s populist communication in the German states

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW): Left-Wing Authoritarian—and Populist? An Empirical Analysis

Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW): Left-Wing Authoritarian—and Populist? An Empirical Analysis

Eine Brücke zwischen Links und Rechts? Wie Sahra Wagenknecht die deutsche Parteienlandschaft verändern könnte

Crowds and Smiles: Visual Opportunity Structures and the Communication of European Political Leaders During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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